Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA)

A new bill that seeks to address critical direct-care workforce issues — including extending federal wage and overtime protections to home care workers — was introduced to the U.S. House of Representatives on July 28.

If enacted, the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act (H.R. 5902), sponsored by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA), would:

• extend wage and overtime protections provided through the Fair Labor Standards Act to home care workers;
• establish data collection and reporting requirements to monitor important workforce indicators such as size, compensation levels, turnover rates and vacancies; and
• provide grants to states to expand and support efforts aimed at recruiting, training and retaining an adequate supply of direct care workers.

“One of America’s fastest-growing workforces, home care aides have been treated by the Department of Labor as a contingent workforce for too long,” PHI President Steven Dawson said in a statement released in support of the bill.

Dawson noted that the Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act follows on the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which included several important provisions — including additional training funds, a National Healthcare Workforce Commission, and a Personal Care Attendants Workforce Advisory Panel — addressing the needs of this workforce.

Pressing DOL to End Companionship Exemption

“Through our Campaign for Fair Pay, PHI and our allies continue to press the Department of Labor to immediately address this issue by ending the ‘companionship exemption’ for workers who provide care and support to elders and to persons with disabilities,” Dawson said.

PHI and other organizations are calling on Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Hilda Solis to make a regulatory fix to end the companionship exemption. In 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the DOL’s authority to define “exceptions” to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act in a case brought by the late Evelyn Coke (pdf), a New York home care aide.

“Because more than 75 percent of long-term care is financed by federal programs, government needs to be part of the solution,” the Direct Care Alliance explains on its website.

“I am here to say that our nation’s laws should respect all hard-working Americans equally,” Rep. Sánchez said. “No matter whether you sit behind a corporate desk or care for an elderly person in a home, all work has dignity.”

The Direct Care Workforce Empowerment Act currently has 28 co-sponsors.

– by Deane Beebe