January 18, 2015

Federal judge slices minimum wage for home care workers

Alternet - U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, who in 2012 threw out new labeling standards for cigarette boxes, issued two rulings in recent weeks that will let nursing home owners avoid paying minimum wage and overtime for caregivers—allowing management to claim that their workers are “companions” under the law and not caregivers, which allowed the owners to pay less.

The case, Home Care Association of America v. Weil, centered around a new Department of Labor rules that were to take effect on January 1. One new rule said that any homecare worker who spends more than 20 percent of their time as a caregiver... would be paid at least the local minimum wage and overtime after working 40 hours a week. Nationally, 15 states already have laws requiring homecare workers be paid minimum wage. In the others, an older “companion” loophole allowed caregivers to be exploited.

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