Issued December 31, 2014
Washington, DC -- Today a federal district court in Washington D.C. issued an order temporarily delaying the federal rule requiring minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers - the same basic legal protections that the vast majority of Americans have enjoyed since the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Regardless of today's temporary ruling, responsible employers, including state governments and private agencies may still voluntarily move forward tomorrow, January 1, to put in place minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers.
Most home care workers are women and many are women of color, like Ms. Evelyn Coke, who fought all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court so that these working women might be according the same labor protections as other Americans. The plaintiffs in the case are lobbying groups representing for-profit home care agencies.
Flora Johnson, an Illinois home care worker had this to say on today's ruling: "I am not surprised that some for-profit home care agencies want to keep even more of their profits, but I am confident that home care workers, bolstered by the voices of seniors and people with disabilities who use home care services, will prevail. We know the only way to improve the quality of home care is to ensure that home care workers are paid fairly for their work, just like everyone else."
These essential federal protections for home care workers, as directed by the Department of Labor, were set to take effect on January 1, 2015 but industry groups have consistently sought to block them. As reported by the New York Times, home care advocates have proved the plaintiffs' analysis of the impact of the labor protections to be seriously flawed.
The judge is expected to hold another hearing on this matter on January 9.