LeadingAge: DOL Should Withdraw Home Health, Hospice Aide Proposed Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) should withdraw a proposed rule that would eliminate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) minimum wage and overtime requirements for home health and hospice aides.

DOL published the proposed rule last month. The proposal, if finalized, would eliminate requirements instituted in a 2013 regulation. The move is part of the Trump administration’s overall effort to de-regulate across the board.

“Removing basic labor protections from home care workers will only exacerbate the multiple issues buffeting the home care sector, its workers and consumers: serious threats from cuts to federal Medicaid contributions, changing immigration policies and the lack of realistic long-term services and supports (LTSS) options,” LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith-Sloan said in a statement. 

The senior services advocacy group LeadingAge represents more than 5,400 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-driven organizations serving older adults, with members in 41 states.

If approved, the proposed rule would mean that employers would no longer be required to pay aides at least the $7.25-per-hour federal minimum wage or to pay overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This could affect more than 3.7 million workers, according to the proposed rule. The public comment period on the rule ended Sept. 2.

The Labor Department indicated that the proposed rule would reduce the cost of home-based care, including compliance costs. The department also said it expects the proposed rule to improve access to care by creating an incentive for providers to enter or expand into the market.

In its comments, LeadingAge disputed the claim that implementing the proposal would expand access. 

“Working longer work hours, and/or receiving lower pay for those hours, could negatively impact the retention of home care workers and lead to increased employee turnover and difficulty attracting skilled workers to the sector,” Smith-Sloan said.

DOL also contends that eliminating these requirements would allow aides who work for more than one home-based care company for over 40 hours a week to move to working for a single agency.

The proposed rule indicated that the roll back of minimum wage rights would not impact most aides because the median hourly wage for those workers hovers around $16.12 an hour.

“Losing the right to receive overtime pay could result in home care workers working additional overtime hours at straight-time pay and/or receiving less pay for the overtime work they would perform in the absence of this proposed rule,” the proposed rule read. “These potential effects – longer work hours and/or less pay – could negatively impact the morale of affected home care workers and lead to increased employee turnover and difficulty attracting skilled workers to the industry.”

LeadingAge in its comments advocated for the Trump Administration to leverage other initiatives to better foster growth in the home-based care workforce, while withdrawing the DOL’s proposed rule. These include the creation of the Office of Immigration Policy (OIP) within DOL’s Office of the Secretary, and the Preparing Americans for High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future executive order, drafted jointly by the departments of Labor, Commerce and Education, to make positive change.

“Actions can and must be taken to recruit and retain these critical home care workers,” Smith-Sloan said. “Change the perception of these roles through investment.”