Court Strikes Down Labor Department Regulation on Pay For Home-Care Workers

Last month, Federal District Judge Leon struck down an October 2013 Labor Department regulation that forces employers to pay home-care workers minimum-wage and overtime pay under the FLSA. A 1974 amendment to the FLSA exempted most homecare workers from its requirements for homecare workers who provide in home care for families. The recent Labor Department rule removed the FLSA exemption for in-home care workers, and also redefined what those workers could do (specifically, that they couldn’t provide “care” such as bathing, dressing, or medical services more than 20% of the time).
A coalition of home care providers sued in the case of Homecare Association of America vs David Weil, arguing that the Labor Department exceeded its authority. Judge Leon agreed, stating “the Department of Labor amazingly decided to try to do administratively what others have failed to achieve in either the Judiciary or the Congress”.