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

A new PHI PolicyWorks analysis finds that a growing number of states report that personal and home care aides are receiving wages that put them at risk of poverty.

In 2009, 36 states reported average hourly wages that fell below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level, up from 32 states in 2008, according to the analysis reported in PHI’s updated State Chart Book on Wages for Personal and Home Care Aides (pdf).

Wages below 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($10.42) are low enough to qualify workers for many state and federal public assistance programs.

“That fully two-thirds of states are now showing these kinds of low wage levels for personal care workers is very disappointing,” said Dorie Seavey, PHI director of policy research.

“These very low wages are a significant obstacle to meeting the country’s rapidly growing demand for personal assistance services,” Seavey said. “They also jeopardize the economic security of hundreds of thousands of caregivers who make it possible for others to live independently.”

Data Spans 10 Years

The updated Chart Book tracks wages in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and for the first time presents a full decade of data from 1999 to 2009.

Other highlights include:

• After adjusting for inflation, national wages for home care aides and personal care aides (PCAs) essentially remained unchanged over the 10-year period.
• In 2009, within the continental U.S., state nominal median wages ranged from $7.50 in Texas to $12.01 in the District of Columbia; real median wages (in 1999 dollars) ranged from $6.01 to $9.66.
• Over the 10-year period, 15 states showed a decline in real median wages for these workers. Eight states saw real wages fall by 5 percent or more.

“For the first time, with the passage of health reform, the need to improve the quality of personal care aide jobs is receiving concerted federal attention,” said Steve Edelstein, PHI national policy director.

Informing Health Reform

“PHI’s PCA wage analysis is very timely. It can inform the federal government’s growing concern with improving the quality of these jobs and ensuring that there is a sufficient PCA workforce to meet future demand,” Edelstein said.

The national health care law includes numerous opportunities (pdf) for PCAs, including:

• the formation of a PCA Workforce Advisory Panel that will be charged with examining and advising on PCA workforce issues, including wages, benefits, and access to services;
• and the awarding of grants to six states to develop PCA training demonstration programs that emphasize core competencies and certification of these workers.

– by PHI Policy Team

Peggy Powell

An interview with Peggy Powell, PHI Director of Curriculum and Workforce Development Read the full story

Robyn Gershon

Robyn R. M. Gershon, MHS, DrPH, a professor of sociomedical sciences and associate dean at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, explores the occupational hazards faced by home care workers. Read the full story

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

NY Capitol Building in Albany

The New York State Senate passed a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights that would guarantee certain workforce protections to thousands of workers who are employed as nannies, housekeepers, or companions to the elderly. Read the full story