PHI has launched a social media campaign calling on Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis to end the exclusion of home care workers from minimum wage and overtime protections.

Since 1975, the DOL has equated home care workers with “casual babysitters” and excluded them from basic labor protections granted to most other American workers through the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This exclusion is also known as the “companionship exemption.”

A 2007 Supreme Court ruling (Long Island Care at Home v. Evelyn Coke) reinforced the Labor Department’s authority over the exclusion, including its ability to reverse it at any time.

“It’s clear that Secretary Solis has the power to change this outdated regulation, and we are urging her to do so now,” said Steve Edelstein, PHI national policy director. “Our country needs these workers, and these workers deserve these basic protections.”

Professional home care workers make up one of the fastest-growing workforces in the country, providing essential services and supports to millions of Americans who otherwise could not live independently. PHI argues that extending wage and overtime protections to home care workers is not only the fair thing to do, it would also help professionalize the workforce at a time when its services are needed more than ever.

PHI’s campaign homepage has more information, including instructions about how you can make your voice heard on this issue using Facebook, Twitter, and other media.

– by Aaron Toleos, PHI Online Communications Director