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Evelyn Coke

Evelyn Coke, who fought for basic wage protections for home care workers, died two years ago this July 9.

Coke — herself a home care worker in Long Island, New York — challenged the “companionship exemption” to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which states that home care workers are exempt from federally guaranteed minimum wage and overtime protections.

Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court. In 2007 the court ruled (pdf) that the companionship exemption was an appropriate exercise of the Department of Labor‘s (DOL) rulemaking authority and therefore legally binding.

However, the court’s decision maintained that the DOL has the authority to end the exemption and grant home care workers fair pay under the FLSA.

PHI Campaign Honors Coke’s Legacy

In the years since the Supreme Court’s ruling was handed down, PHI has drawn attention to Coke’s fight to end the companionship exemption through its Campaign for Fair Pay.

The campaign encourages supporters of fair pay for home care workers to contact DOL Secretary Hilda Solis and urge her to end the companionship exemption.

As a result of the campaign and increased media attention, the DOL announced in the spring of last year its plans to review the companionship exemption, with a proposed rule published for public comment by October 2011.

In a memorial op-ed published last year in Newsday, PHI President Steven Dawson and Direct Care Alliance Executive Director Leonila Vega wrote that DOL’s plans to reconsider the companionship exemption were made possible by the courage of Evelyn Coke.

“She had faith in the American system of justice, believing that even she, an immigrant who never earned more than minimum wage, could ask to be treated fairly,” they wrote.

“It’s unfortunate that she didn’t live to see justice done.”

– by Matthew Ozga

U.S. Supreme Court

June 11 marks the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the “companionship exemption” — the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulation that excludes home care workers from the federal minimum wage and overtime protections that most American workers enjoy.

In its decision in Long Island Care at Home, Ltd. v. Coke (pdf), the Court wrote that while it did not have the jurisdiction to change the “companionship exemption” regulation, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) does have such authority.

Four years later, the “companionship exemption” regulation still stands.

PHI, the National Employment Law Project (NELP), and other advocates have been pressing DOL Secretary Hilda Solis to end the exclusion of home care workers from minimum wage and overtime protections.

The Department has announced its intention to review the exemption for home care workers, with a draft rule revising the regulations published for public comment expected later in the year.

The organizations have also been working with Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) on a legislative fix to change the FLSA regulation.

Consumers, Workers, and Employers Would Benefit

The late Evelyn Coke — the home care worker who brought public attention to this labor practice when battling the injustice she suffered all the way up to the Supreme Court — will never benefit from a regulation change.

Evelyn Coke

Yet many home care workers and their employers would.

A recent report from NELP says that revising FLSA would lower costs for the home care industry by helping to alleviate “chronic recruitment problems and high turnover that plague the industry — problems that impede access to quality care for consumers.”

The report also argues that the cost of providing the federal labor protections to home care workers would “likely be limited,” since many states already offer better protections to home care workers.

“While it may seem contradictory that revising the exemption will improve job quality while having limited impact on the home care industry,” said Steve Edelstein, PHI’s national policy director, “the fact is that providing minimum wage and overtime protection to home care workers will send an important signal that these are real jobs in a critical industry and that those performing them deserve the same labor protections other workers enjoy.”

State Protections Not a Solution

This week’s Ohio budget debate highlights the importance of ending the federal companionship exemption. According to the Dayton Daily News, the state is attempting to eliminate its minimum wage protection for home care workers, with a budget amendment that would disqualify workers from receiving the state minimum wage if they are not covered by the federal minimum wage.

“Ohio’s efforts to eliminate its minimum wage protection demonstrates the need for federal action that would provide a comprehensive permanent solution to the companionship exemption,” Edelstein said.

Campaign for Fair Pay

PHI’s social media campaign to end the federal companionship exemption will provide daily status updates on Facebook, Twitter, and the PHI website from June 11, the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, through July 9, the anniversary of Coke’s death.

To learn more about the FLSA regulation that excludes home care workers from federal labor protections and how to contact Secretary Solis to change it, visit the PHI Campaign for Fair Pay.

– by Deane Beebe

Evelyn Coke

June 11 is the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case Evelyn Coke vs. Long Island Care at Home, in which the Court ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor could continue to exclude home care aides from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act‘s wage and hour protections. Read the full story

PHI President Steven Dawson‘s letter to the editor highlighting home care workers’ low wages and lack of health coverage was published in today’s New York Times. Read the full story

For the fourth time in three years, the New York Times published an editorial calling for overturning the 1975 federal labor regulation that exempts agency-employed home care workers from federal minimum wage and overtime protections that were enacted over 70 years ago. Read the full story