Department of Labor Announces New Regulations Granting Millions Of Home care Workers Basic Labor Protections
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Department of Labor announced new regulations to extend basic labor protections to millions of in-home care workers, entitling them to minimum wage and overtime protections and ending 75 years of unfair exclusion from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“Today, the Department of Labor took an important step towards stabilizing one of America’s fastest-growing workforces, and one made up predominantly of women, women of color, and immigrants,” said Ai-jen Poo, executive director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign. “This change is a long overdue show of respect for women in the workplace and for the important work of supporting seniors and people with disabilities.”
Every eight seconds, someone in America turns 65. By 2020, 5 million care workers will be needed to meet the growing demand for care—meaning the care workforce is going to have to basically double within the next 7 years.
“These new rules are a major victory for the 2.5 million home care workers in America, and the millions more who will be needed to meet America’s growing need over the next decades,” said Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs with Justice and American Rights at Work, and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign. “By extending basic labor protections to in-home care workers, the Department of Labor has helped pave the way for strong, sustainable growth of the care workforce.”
Over the course of the implementation period, the Jobs with Justice / American Rights at Work, National Domestic Workers Alliance and Caring Across Generations will work with care providers, care recipients, law makers, and other advocacy organizations to ensure that the new rules are implemented effectively, efficiently, and fairly.
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Caring Across Generations (www.caringacross.org) is a multi-faceted campaign that is changing the way America cares for seniors, supports people with disabilities, and values caregivers and in-home care workers. The principle that consumers and workers should be treated with dignity and respect underpins all of our work
