Supporters Say Basic Protections for Home Care Workers Will Ensure Care for America's Elderly and Disabled

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, lead counsel for The Service Employees International Union, the nation's largest healthcare union, joined a home care worker and disability community advocates to testify before Congress in support of legislation that would close a loophole that denies home care workers overtime and minimum wage protections.


The Fair Home Health Care Act, introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) in the Senate and Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) in the House, was inspired by the plight of 73 year-old home care worker Evelyn Coke. After more than 20 years of work that sometimes entailed four 24-hour days a week, sleeping at a client's home, and rarely receiving time-and-a-half compensation for the overtime work hours, Ms. Coke sued her employer. In June of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Coke, and one million caregivers like her, could be denied overtime pay and minimum wage under the companionship exemption"of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which categorizes home care workers as casual helpers, like babysitters.


"Excluding these workers from the minimum standards contained in the FLSA is both unsound labor and employment policy and unsound long term care policy as we face a growing shortage of workers willing and able to perform these essential services,"testified Craig Becker, SEIU lead counsel in Ms. Coke's Supreme Court case. "Today's home care workers can no longer be compared to the neighborhood teenager who babysits on Friday night."


When the FLSA was extended to domestic employees in 1974, home care was largely provided by neighbors and friends. Since then the home care industry has experienced explosive growth - with more than one million home care workers in the United States provide care for the elderly and people with disabilities in their homes, and help with daily emotionally and physically demanding activities such as dressing, bathing, cooking, cleaning and transferring--yet they are still excluded from basic protections of the FLSA.


The Department of Labor lists home care work as the nation's fastest growing occupation in the U.S. But low wages, poor hours, and lack of health insurance, sick, and vacation time have led to high turnover in the industry.


"As the baby boom generation ages, the number of people needing care at home is expected to double,"said Gerry Hudson, SEIU Healthcare Executive Vice President. "If we hope to meet the needs of this growing elderly population, we must invest in a living wage and health care coverage for home care workers. This legislation is a critical first step in that direction, and I urge our leaders in Congress to pass it as quickly as possible."
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