MassHealth personal care attendants eligible for overtime pay under D.C. court ruling
Source: Mass Live
Approximately 35,000 personal care attendants in Massachusetts who have contracts with MassHealth will be eligible for overtime pay for the first time, under a recent ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"This victory is another important milestone in the efforts to improve the lives of home care workers, who play such a vital role in ensuring that seniors and those with disabilities can live at home safely and with dignity," said Veronica Turner, executive vice president of 1199 SEIU, the union representing the Massachusetts personal care attendants, in a statement.
The ruling came out of a case, Home Care Association of America v. Weil, involving three associations of home care agencies that objected to the U.S. Department of Labor's interpretation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts from overtime pay and minimum wage laws certain domestic workers – those who provide "companionship services" or live-in care for the elderly, ill or disabled. Until recently, the U.S. Department of Labor had said that domestic workers who work for an outside agency to provide care – i.e. those who are not hired directly by a family – fall under the exemption and are ineligible for overtime pay. But as more elderly people have started receiving in-home care provided by third-party agencies, the department reversed its position and made those workers eligible for overtime pay.
A U.S. District Court judge agreed with the home care associations and invalidated the U.S. Department of Labor's interpretation. But the U.S. Appeals Court overturned the District Court and ruled that the workers should be covered under the labor standards act.
Read more: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/08/masshealth_personal_care_atten.html
I'm betting these jobs have a high burn-out rate. Nice to see these workers getting a wage for their hard work.
