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Employment advocates are praising a proposal to apply federal minimum wage and overtime protections...
Shirley McFarland, a caregiver with Senior Helpers, vacuums Rubie Hills Brentwood home./ Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean
Shirley McFarland, a caregiver with Senior Helpers, left, folds towels as Rubie Hill, one of her clients, looks on in Hills home on Thursday./ Jae S. Lee / The Tennessean
Employment advocates are praising a proposal to apply federal minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers, but industry officials contend it will lead to higher costs for elderly and disabled patients.
The Obama administration is proposing to apply the federal Fair Labor Standards Act to roughly 2.5 million home care workers, including an estimated 53,000 in Tennessee. Those workers have been exempt from the nations primary wage and hour law since it was amended during the Ford administration.
The proposed change, released for public comment late last month, would require home care agencies to pay their workers at least the minimum wage. It also would require agencies to pay a higher wage, typically 1 times the regular rate, for any time that employees work above 40 hours in a week.
Worker advocates applaud the idea, but it is drawing resistance from the industry, foreshadowing a likely election-year regulatory fight.
Supporters say the change is long overdue, contending the exemption no longer makes sense. Providing home care for elderly and disabled Americans has evolved beyond simply providing companionship to helping clients bathe, eat, take medication and perform other daily tasks, they said.
This is hard work, and they deserve the same rights and protections as other workers, said Steven Edelstein, national policy director for PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), a New York City-based nonprofit advocacy group and professional association for direct care workers.
Change also is needed because home-based care has morphed into a major industry, advocates say. The number of for-profit home care agencies exploded from 47 in 1975 to more than 4,900 in 2006, and their share of Medicare-certified agencies grew from 2 percent to 68 percent in that time, the Labor Department said.
That trend likely will continue as baby boomers age. The government said the number of Americans older than 65 who need some form of daily assistance will double to 12 million by 2030.
Labor officials said the proposed pay and overtime change also would level the playing field nationally, as 20 states and the District of Columbia already apply minimum wage and/or overtime protections to home care workers.
The other 30 states, including Tennessee, do not.
Industry officials dont like expanding overtime pay. They say the federal proposal, while well-intentioned, could drive up costs and disrupt their operations.
Home care agencies likely would hire more workers to avoid paying overtime, the National Association for Home Care and Hospice said. That would cause more scheduling headaches for agencies and reduce paychecks of employees who end up with fewer hours, the trade group said.
Matt Miller, co-owner of Franklin-based Senior Helpers, said he typically pays his live-in caregivers a flat rate of up to $125 a day. Switching to an hourly rate would increase that to more than $200, which he said would be passed on to clients.
This wont affect clients who need care for a few hours a day, but those who need around-the-clock care, this will make it unaffordable, he said.
Labor officials counter that any cost increases would be modest.
Republicans have criticized the proposal and have filed a bill in the House that would make the overtimeKim Kardashian pay exemption for the industry permanent.
One local home care worker interviewed byThe Tennesseansaid she already makes more than minimum wage and her employer voluntarily pays overtime rates when she works it.
He doesnt have to pay me overtime, but he chooses to, Janet McKinley, a caregiver at Seniors Plus More Inc., said of the agencys owner. Im fortunate.
Contact Duane Marstellerat 615-259-8241 ordmarstelle@tennessean.com.
Employment advocates are praising a proposal to apply federal minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers, but industry officials contend it will lead to higher costs for elderly and
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