Senator Coons applauded the release Tuesday of the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL)’s final rule extending the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers. The rule will go into effect on January 1, 2015. Fifteen states already extend these protections to home care workers, and an additional six states and the District of Columbia mandate state minimum wage protections. Delaware is among the twenty-nine states that currently do not include these workers in their minimum wage or overtime provisions, however, most Delaware home health agencies already pay their workers a living wage.
The new rule will apply to all home care employees and other domestic employees working for agencies. Additionally, most home care workers employed by a family or individual will be covered by minimum wage and overtime, with a few exceptions. Notably, those who perform “companionship services” will continue to be exempt from the FLSA. However, the rule clarifies and significantly narrows the exemption.
Established in 1974, the companionship exemptions were meant to apply to casual babysitters and companions for the elderly and disabled. Over the last several decades, the home care industry has grown dramatically. Currently, there are 1.79 million home care workers in the U.S., including about 3,000 in Delaware. Today’s home care workforce is primarily comprised of professional caregivers such as home health aides, personal care aides, and certified nursing assistants, who provide specialized services far exceeding companionship. Under the new rule, home care workers who perform medically-related services for which training is typically a prerequisite would no longer fall into the ‘companion’ exemption. This new DoL rule recognizes and properly compensates the hard work of those on the front lines providing care for Delawareans.
The regulation will result in higher wages; better work conditions, such as reduction in excessive overtime; and lower rates of poverty for nearly two million home care workers. Approximately 92 percent of these workers are women, nearly 30 percent are African American, and 12 percent are Hispanic. Right now, the home care industry faces extremely high rates of turnover because of poor wages and work conditions. Higher wages and better work conditions will also help to facilitate a stable long-term care workforce by making home care a more attractive vocation.
The DoL has created a web portal with interactive web tools, fact sheets and other materials to help families, other employers, and workers understand the new requirements. These, along with information about upcoming webinars on the rule, are available at www.dol.gov/whd/homecare.