Pay, Job Protections for Home Care Aides at Risk Under Proposed Federal Rule

The federal government is considering a rollback of labor protections for home care workers that could result in lower pay and make it more difficult for families to access home- and community-based services for their aging loved ones.

AARP is urging officials to revisit the proposal, saying it could exacerbate the caregiver shortage and undermine the economic security of these workers, whom older adults and their families often rely on for day-to-day care, wrote Jennifer Jones, AARP’s vice president of financial security and livable communities, in a comment on the proposal.

In July, the U.S Department of Labor published a draft rule that would exclude home care workers who provide essential medical and personal care from minimum wage and overtime pay protections as set out more broadly by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law. ​

​These workers are professionals who work in private homes, group homes or certified agencies. They support their clients by assisting with everyday tasks and personal care, monitoring vital signs or providing basic wound care. ​

​Limiting their access to minimum wage and overtime would further strain the national caregiver workforce, creating uncertainty in regulations and making recruitment and retention more difficult. This, in turn, could threaten access to home care and force more people into costly institutional settings, Jones wrote. ​

​According to the FLSA, most employees are required to be paid at least the federal minimum wage, currently $7.25 per hour, plus overtime for hours exceeding 40 in a workweek. ​

​In the 1970s, the FLSA was amended to include domestic workers, but it still excluded many home care workers and aides — even those who worked for third-party agencies. In 2013 many home care workers gained minimum wage and overtime protections for the first time after the government determined its previous exclusions were too broad. 

​​Now, however, the Trump administration is contemplating a rollback of the 2013 rule, which, if adopted, would once again exclude many workers from guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay. Opponents say this falsely equates home care workers’ vital jobs with occasional home visits or babysitting. ​

​“For an occupation where there is great demand and an ongoing struggle for competitive and livable wages, it does not make sense to revert to this dated view,” wrote Jones. ​

Impacts Would Destabilize Caregiving Industry

Federal officials say the proposed rule lifts regulatory burdens on third-party employment agencies by reducing compliance costs, thus lowering the barrier for more providers to enter the market. ​

​However, the proposal also acknowledges that any benefits must be weighed against “likely reductions in employee earnings and worker protections.” ​​