I worked for 20 years taking care of people--making sure they had a warm bath or a hot meal--so they could have a decent life at home. Isn't that work important? By the wages, you wouldn't think we do an important job, but home care workers help people stay at home, close to their families. In some cases, we are their family.Those were the words of an ailing 73-year-old former home care worker, Evelyn Coke of Queens, New York, who sued her employer, Long Island Care at Home, for 20 years of unpaid overtime. Her work often included multiple 24-hour days and 70+ hour weeks in the homes of elderly people she was assigned to care for. She occasionally even slept overnight at her clients' homes so she could be there for them if they needed her.
But, three years ago today, Ms. Coke lost her case in the U.S. Supreme Court. The court's ruling ultimately kept Ms. Coke's home care work classified as "companionship service," or casual help under the 1975 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), allowing home care agencies in many states to deny home care workers overtime benefits and federal minimum wage.
When Congress expanded the FLSA in 1974, it intended to include all domestic workers, such as chauffeurs and housekeepers, whose primary vocation was domestic services. The exemption was not intended to cover the rapidly expanding, professional home care industry. At that time, home care was largely provided by neighbors and friends.
"The Fair Labor Standards Act has been anything but fair in the case of home care workers," said SEIU Executive Vice President Gerry Hudson. "Currently, the FLSA doesn't differentiate between the teenager down the street that watches your kids for a few hours and a person trained to provide long-term care for individuals with essential care needs."
In its 9-0 decision against Ms. Coke, the Supreme Court justices made it clear that the law gives the Department of Labor the power to change this classification. SEIU and its allies are hopeful that the department will do just that.
Since 1975, home care has grown to be one of the fastest growing occupations in the country. More than 1 million workers in the United States provide help with activities of daily living such as dressing, bathing, cooking, cleaning, and transferring. Regardless of the demands, most home care workers receive low wages, no health insurance, no sick or vacation time--conditions that result in high turnover and make it difficult for home care consumers to find and keep caregivers. This care gap will only be exacerbated as America's baby boomer population ages.
SEIU and the nation's leading organizations for home care workers and home care consumers are returning to the unfinished business of ensuring the same labor protections that the majority of private and public sector workers already enjoy under the FLSA. If we are to succeed in putting our nation's new healthcare law to work for everyone in America, we must also strengthen and grow our healthcare workforce --including home care workers.
Ms. Coke, who died last year, was far from a babysitter for the elderly and people with disabilities. She was a hard worker devoted to providing vital assistance to the people who needed it the most, as well as the families who relied on her care for a loved one.
With the leadership of Secretary Solis, the Labor Department can ensure the equal protections for home care workers that will help build a stable, professional home care workforce and improve the lives of millions of Americans.
Ms. Coke would be proud.
