Be a Part of History!
The Department of Labor has proposed a rule to extend minimum wage and overtime to home care workers–but our work is not done. To ensure this new rule goes into effect, we must generate as much support as possible during the comment period.
SUBMIT YOUR COMMENT: Take time right NOW to submit your official comment–the comment period closes soon.
Sample Comments
» Home Care Worker
I have worked in this field for ___ years. Every day, I help my clients with [list what you do for your clients]. This helps my clients stay healthy and independent. I take great pride in my work, which takes skill and compassion. I care deeply about my clients, and I work hard to support my family. I love my job, but I would feel more economically secure with minimum wage and overtime protections.
» Home Care Employer
As the [owner/manager] of a home care agency, I strongly support the DOL’s proposed regulations (RIN 1235-AA05) that ensure all home care aides receive the same labor protections as other health care workers.
My agency is in _________. I employ ____ home care aides who provide services to ____ clients. I have always felt that my workers should be fairly compensated, and I have paid them as much as I can afford while maintaining a viable business. I would appreciate a level playing field that assumed at least minimum wage, payment for travel time, and time-and-a-half for overtime. This is not only right—it is smart. When wages go up, turnover goes down. We treat our workers well, and as a result, they provide excellent services. That helps our business.
» Consumer or Family Member
[We/I] employ ___ aides to provide support and assistance with [list tasks]. These aides bring skill and compassion to their work, making it possible for my [specify family member] [or me] to live independently and be part of the community. It is difficult to find good care workers because the pay and benefits are so poor. Providing basic labor protections will help to show that providing care is a “real” job that deserves respect. This might encourage more people to consider this work.
» Advocate/Allies
As a [aging/disability/workforce advocate], I strongly support the DOL’s proposed regulations (RIN 1235-AA05) that ensure all home care aides receive the same labor protections as other American workers.
Home care workers are vital to the delivery of quality care for elders and people with disabilities. But despite their important work of caring for millions of older Americans and people with disabilities, home care workers are poorly paid (median wage of $9.40), one third are uninsured, and half rely on public benefits.
The extremely low wages that home care workers earn undermine the continuity and quality of care for millions of Americans. These services are becoming increasingly important—we should treat those who care for our most vulnerable with respect and dignity. Providing minimum wage and overtime protections for these crucial health care workers is the right thing to do.
To submit a comment by mail, the comment must include agency name (Wage & Hour Division, Department of Labor) and the Regulatory Information Number (RIN) 1235-AA05, and be mailed to:
Mary Ziegler, Director
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502
200 Constitution Avenue NW.
Washington, DC 20210
Guide to US Home Care Workforce
Using the best data and research evidence available, this national report presents the most complete picture possible of America’s home care and personal assistance workforce–the fastest-growing workforce in our nation. read more»
Value the Care, No.1 (pdf)
Why home care workers should not be exempted from the Fair Labor Standards Act
Value the Care, No.2 (pdf)
Fixing the “companionship exemption” will improve jobs
Value the Care, No.3 (pdf)
Fixing the companionship exemption will NOT make care too expensive
Value the Care, No.4 (pdf)
Myths & Facts about fixing the companionship exemption
Value the Care, No.5 (pdf)
$80 billion home care industry can afford basic labor protections for workers
Statement from PHI President Steven Dawson
PHI commends Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis for proposing revised regulations to the companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. We wish Ms. Coke had lived to see this day… read more»
Dawson on the Concerns of Business Owners
Let me begin by saying that PHI is the prime sponsor of two home care agencies, one in New York and one in Pennsylvania, in total employing more than 2,000 aides. I serve on the board of each. In both cases, our agencies pay our aides more than minimum wage, as well as overtime pay… read more»
Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)
FAQ for the proposed reforms to the US DOL companionship regulations
Remarks by Ai-jen Poo, National Domestic Workers Alliance (pdf)
As given at the US Department of Labor press briefing on Dec. 15, 2012
Evelyn Coke (1934-2009) Plaintiff in Long Island Care at Home v. Coke
Timeline
1938 – The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is enacted to ensure a minimum standard of living for workers through the provision of a minimum wage, overtime pay, and other protections — but domestic workers are excluded.
1974 – The FLSA is amended to include domestic employees such as housekeepers, full-time nannies, chauffeurs, and cleaners. However, persons employed as “companions to the elderly or infirm” remain excluded from the law.
1975 – The Department of Labor interprets the “companionship exemption” as including all direct-care workers in the home, even those employed by third parties such as home care agencies.
2001 – The Clinton DOL finds that “significant changes in the home care industry” have occurred and issues a “notice of proposed rulemaking” that would have made important changes to the exemption. The revision process is terminated, however, by the incoming Bush Administration.
2007 – The US Supreme Court, in a case brought by New York home care attendant Evelyn Coke, upholds the DOL’s authority to define exceptions to FLSA.
2011 - On December 27, 2011, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would end the exclusion of home care workers from minimum wage and overtime protections. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted until February 27, 2012.
Media Coverage
Letters & Reports
| Source | Title | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eldercare Workforce Alliance letter | Call for DOL to revise companionship exemption (pdf) | EWA co-conveners Steven Dawson and Nancy Lundebjerg urge the DOL to take timely action and issue a revision to the FLSA companionship exemption. | July 15, 2011 |
| National Employment Law Project (NELP) | “Fair Pay for Home Care Workers” (pdf) | Makes recommendations regarding the reform of the US Department of Labor’s companionship rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act | March 2011 |
| Eldercare Workforce Alliance letter | “EWA Says ‘Companionship Exemption’ Policy Needs Rethinking” (pdf) | The 25 member organizations of the Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA) sent this letter (pdf) to DOL Secretary Solis and HHS Secretary Sebelius urging them to extend federal wage and overtime protection to home care workers. | March 27, 2009 |
| PHI letter to Obama Administration | “Request that the U.S. DOL revise interpretation of the ‘Companionship Exemption’ for Home Care Workers” (pdf) | Following the 2008 election, PHI sent this letter to the Obama Administration calling for an end to the “companionship exemption” for home care worker | November 21, 2008 |
Organizations Supporting Minimum Wage & Overtime Protections for Home Care Workers
9to5, National Association of Working Women
A Better Balance: The Work & Family Legal Center
AARP
Alliance for Retired Americans
Alpha One
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
American Association for International Aging
American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD)
American Association of University Women (AAUW)
American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Federation of Teachers Program on Retirement and Retirees
American Geriatrics Society
American Rights at Work
Arizona Direct Care Worker Association
Association for Gerontology and Human Development in Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Brazilian Immigrant Center
Break the Chain Campaign at IPS
Buffalo River Services
Campaign for Community Change
Caring Across Generations
Catalina In-Home Services, Inc.
Center for American Progress Action Fund
Center for Community Change
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Coalition on Human Needs
Community Action Partnership
Community Catalyst
Community Voices Heard
Cooperative Care
Cooperative Home Care Associates
Council on Social Work Education
Direct Care Alliance
Eldercare Workforce Alliance
Epilepsy Foundation
Experience Works
Families USA
Family Values @ Work
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center
Florida Professional Association of Care Givers
Focus Care
Focus Health Educators, LLC
Food Chain Workers Alliance
From the Heart Companion Services
Graham Behavioral Services
Gray Panthers
Great Livin’ LLC
Green Praxis
Halcyon Home Care
Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Association
Health Care for America NOW (HCAN)
Home Care Associates
Indiana Care Givers Association
Influencing State Policy
Institute for Policy Studies
Interfaith Worker Justice
International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural Implement Workers of America, UAW
Jobs with Justice
Labor Justice Committee of El Paso
Legal Aid Society
Maine Center for Economic Policy
Maine Women’s Lobby
Make the Road New York
MataHari: Eye of the Day
Medicare Rights Center
Mississippi Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities
NAACP
National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals
National Asian Pacific Center on Aging
National Association of Area Agencies on Aging
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disability Directors
National Association of Direct Care Workers of Color
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs
National Caucus and Center on Black Aged
National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
National Council of Jewish Women
National Council of La Raza (NCLR)
National Council of Negro Women (NCNW)
National Council of Women’s Organizations
National Council on Aging
National Day Laborer Organizing Network
National Domestic Workers Alliance/ La Alianza National de Trabajadores del Hogar
National Hispanic Council on Aging
National Immigration Law Center
National Indian Council on Aging
National Network of Career Nursing Assistants
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Priorities Project
National Senior Citizens Law Center
National Women’s Law Center
NCB Capital Impact
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
New Mexico Direct Caregivers Coalition
North Carolina Justice Center
Northwest Workersʹ Justice Project
OWL – The Voice of Midlife and Older Women
Paradise Home Care Cooperative
Paso del Norte Civil Rights Project
Pathways PA
Pennsylvania Direct Care Workers Association
PHI
Philipino Workers Center
Provincial Council of the Clerics of St. Viator (Viatorians)
Public Justice Center
Restaurant Opportunities Centers United
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
Senior Service America, Inc.
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Society’s Assets
Sociologists for Women in Society
Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice
Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania
The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care
Training Academy for Personal Caregivers and Assistants
United Food and Commercial Workers
United Steelworkers (USW)
USAction
Washington Community Action Network
Washtenaw County Workers’ Center
Weinberg, Roger & Rosenfeld
Wider Opportunities for Women
Wisconsin Direct Caregiver Alliance
Women Employed
Women of Color Policy Network, NYU Wagner
Women’s Research & Education Institute
YWCA USA
President Obama Announces Home Care Rule Change
In this announcement, President Obama declares his support for a new DOL rule that would end the “companionship exemption”: a DOL ruling that excludes home care workers from minimum wage and overtime.
Walk a Day in My Shoes: Barack Obama
In 2007, Senator Obama spent a day working alongside homecare worker Pauline Beck of Alameda, California, a mother of six children who earns $10.50 an hour and gets no sick time, overtime, or vacation pay.
We Can’t Wait: Pauline Beck
In 2007, then-Senator Barack Obama spent a day with Pauline Beck, a homecare worker. He worked alongside her, getting to know the daily life and concerns of a homecare worker. Now, as President, he has taken action that will require homecare workers recieve at least a minimum wage and overtime protections – which many were previously exempt from.
Evelyn Coke Tribute Video
Home care worker Evelyn Coke brought her fight for fair pay all the way to the Supreme Court. PHI released this video on the first anniversary of her passing.
She loved the work, but she earned only around $7 an hour and got no overtime pay. For years Ms. Coke, a single mother of five, quietly grumbled, and then, quite uncharacteristically, rebelled. (New York Times)
