Sensenbach said he agrees with the court’s decision because his employees deserve better pay, but “unfortunately, (this decision) means the cost of home care services is going to go up”.
Advertisement
The Obama administration said the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia covers nearly 2 million workers “whose demanding work merits these fundamental wage guarantees”.
Laphonza Butler, who represents thousands of home care workers as a leader in the Service Employees worldwide Union, welcomed the court ruling.
Fifteen states already extend state minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers, and another six states and Washington, D.C., mandate state minimum wage protections.
Labor Department regulations issued in 2013 extended minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers for the first time. “Since the time the Department initially adopted that approach, the provision of residential care has undergone a marked transformation”, Srinivasan wrote.
Lobbyists for the $84 billion industry have argued that the new rules could even reduce the take-home pay of caregivers if companies decide not to send workers out for shifts longer than eight hours to avoid overtime pay. “Federal wage and hour protections will help to provide a more solid wage floor upon which to improve the quality of jobs for home care aides and quality of care for older people and people living with disabilities”.
“It’s a delicate balance”, said Todd Sensenbach, co-owner of Bend’s Home Instead Senior Care franchise, which is one of the region’s biggest private home care providers.
“We don’t agree with it”, Phil Bongiorno, the group’s executive director said.
Advertisement
William Dombi, vice president for law at the National Association for Home Care, said industry officials were still studying the decision and considering all options, including an appeal to the Supreme Court. The rule was opposed by the Washington-based U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has said it would make home-health care too expensive for some. Previously, the third-party employers had been exempt from those rules.
