The Labor Department under the Trump administration has proposed rescinding Fair Labor Standards Act coverage to home care workers, according to a Jan. 29 report from NPR.
The Fair Labor Standards Act was passed by Congress in 1938, though home care workers were not granted labor protections until 2013. Those protections include the right to earn at least the minimum wage and one-and-a-half times a regular wage when working more than 40 hours a week.
The Trump administration and critics of the 2013 rule — including the Home Care Association of America — say the protections have led to a drop in overtime as home health agencies cap hours to keep costs down.
PHI, a nonprofit caregiver advocacy organization, told NPR that only about 10% of caregivers were eligible for overtime pay before the labor protections took effect.
Inclusion in the Fair Labor Standards Act also ensures home care workers are protected when wage requirements go unmet. Home care agencies have paid about $158 million in back wages to home care workers since inclusion in the labor protections began, PHI told NPR.
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