Changes sought for home health workers

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Home healthcare workers in the United States would see changes in wages and overtime protections under new rules put forward by the Obama administration.

President Obama and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said the new rules, to be announced Thursday, would provide minimum wage and overtime protections for nearly 2 million workers who provide in-home care services, the White House said in a release.

The announcement is the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama administration has taken through the so-called "We Can't Wait" initiative to improve the job market and the nation's economy without congressional action.

"The nearly 2 million in-home care workers across the country should not have to wait a moment longer for a fair wage," Obama said. "They work hard and play by the rules and they should see that work and responsibility rewarded. Today's action will ensure that these men and women get paid fairly for a service that a growing number of older Americans couldn't live without."

Solis said the proposed regulation would ensure that home healthcare workers' work is properly classified "so they receive appropriate compensation and that employers who have been treating these workers fairly are no longer at a competitive disadvantage. "

Currently, workers classified as "companions" are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime requirements. When established in 1974, the exemption was meant for casual sitters and companions for the elderly and the sick, not in-home healthcare service providers, the White House said.

Statistics indicate 1.79 million home care workers are professional caregivers, not "companions," the White House said. The proposed regulation will reconsider whether the exemption is too broad.

The proposed changes will be subject to 60 days of public comment.

Several Republican lawmakers have criticized the anticipated proposals, saying they raise costs for individuals, and federal and state programs, The New York Times reported.

At a hearing last month, Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chairman a House subcommittee on work force protections, said, Medicare and Medicaid expenses likely would increase because of the proposed change in the companion definition.

The move likely would mean senior citizens and their families would be "less able to afford home care, which is typically paid not by insurance, but by families themselves," he said.