Department of Labor Announces the Implementation of Rule Granting Millions of Home-Care Workers Basic Labor Protections
CONTACT:
Ori Korin
ori@jwj.org or 202-393-1044 x126
Washington, D.C.—Today, the Department of Labor announced that new regulations published last year to extend basic labor protections to millions of in-home care workers will still be implemented by January 1, 2015, in response to requests to further delay the long-anticipated rules. The regulations grant home-care workers access to minimum wage and overtime and end 75 years of exemption from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
“These new rules are a major victory for the 2.5 million home-care workers who have been unfairly excluded from job rights afforded to virtually all other people in America,” said Sarita Gupta, executive director of Jobs With Justice. “Home-care workers provide vital services to seniors and people with disabilities, yet earn poverty wages and struggle to sustain their own families on what they earn. By making good on its promise to extend basic labor protections to home-care workers by next year, the Department of Labor has helped pave the way for strong, sustainable growth of the care workforce.”
Jobs With Justice has been working with the Department of Labor, care providers, lawmakers and other advocacy organizations to ensure that the new rules are implemented effectively, efficiently and fairly, and will continue to press for strong and timely enforcement measures.
As Gupta went on to say, “We applaud the Obama administration for ensuring that the implementation of these critical protections remains on course and that a timeline and mechanism for enforcement have been set.”
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