How to resolve AdBlock issue? LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A federal judge last week threw out a new labor rule that was to have provided overtime for an estimated two million providers of In-Home Supportive Services across the United States.
The Jan. 14 decision by US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Richard Leon invalidated a US Department of Labor rule – set to go into effect at the start of this month – requiring overtime protections, travel and wait time pay for homecare workers nationwide.
The following day, California Department of Social Services Director Will Lightbourne announced that the agency was halting implementation of the changes to the In-Home Supportive Services program.
“In view of the fact the federal requirements relating to overtime payments have been vacated by the court, California will retain the program structure that existed before the Department of Labor issued the rule,” Lightbourne said. “This means recipients of services will continue to receive all of the monthly hours they have been authorized, and will continue to receive their services from their provider of choice.”
In-Home Supportive Services, which provides domestic and personal care services for senior citizens or individuals with physical disabilities – allowing them to stay in their homes – is offered in all of California's 58 counties.
The program includes more than 400,000 care providers serving the full caseload of 490,000 recipients, the California Department of Social Services reported.
In Lake County, there are about 2,000 providers, with recipients also numbering about 2,000, according to Social Services Director Carol Huchingson, whose agency oversees the county's IHSS program.
President Barack Obama in 2011 announced a proposed rule extending the Fair Labor Standards Act to homecare workers.
The US Department of Labor said it subsequently issued the Home Care Final Rule to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to almost two million homecare workers, effective Jan. 1.
In September, Home Care Association of America v. Weil was filed to challenge the US Department of Labor's new rule.
On Dec. 22. Judge Leon vacated a portion of the regulation and issued a temporary restraining order against the rule going into effect until Jan. 15, later issuing his final decision.
In a statement on its Web site, the US Department of Labor said of the legal developments: “The Department strongly disagrees with both orders, and we are considering all of our legal options.”
The agency said it stands by its final rule. “We believe the Rule is legally sound and is the right policy-- both for those employees, whose demanding work merits these fundamental wage guarantees, and for recipients of services, who deserve a stable and professional workforce allowing them to remain in their homes and communities.”
The California Department of Social Services said IHSS providers will continue to be paid straight-time at the locally bargained hourly wage, in the same manner in which hours were reported and providers were paid in 2014.
While the state of California has halted its implementation of the rules, California United Homecare Workers – the union that represents IHSS workers in 23 California counties, including Lake – said there is funding still available to cover overtime for IHSS workers, and nothing in Judge Leon's ruling stops the state from paying it.
The union also called on Gov. Jerry Brown to move forward with paying overtime to homecare workers, pointing out that last year Brown signed a bill into law allowing IHSS workers to earn overtime pay for the first time in history.
California United Homecare Workers is hosting a petition drive to convince Brown to take the action at http://www.cuhw.org/2015/01/sign-the-petition-for-overtime-pay/ .
The union said many IHSS workers are among the working poor, noting that they make just $10 an hour on average.
IHSS need continues to grow at county level
“These things are never simple,” Huchingson said of the latest development regarding IHSS rules.
The overtime rule wasn't to have had a fiscal impact on the county of Lake because Huchingson said the county pays a “maintenance of effort” – or share of cost established by the state – for its IHSS program.
She said that share of cost number increases by 3.5 percent annually to allow for growth in the program.
The most recent maintenance of effort for the county's IHSS program totals $4.6 million, which Huchingson said includes not only the county's share of the cost of the hours and services but also administrative costs for the program.
“I think the biggest impact in this last minute, unexpected change, is that an incredible amount of time had been put into preparing for this,” she said, adding, “That's how it is in government.”
In December, Lake County's IHSS providers provided 200,000 hours of services, Huchingson said.
“It's huge,” she added.
She said Lake's IHSS caseload is much higher than comparable counties due to the high number of elderly and disabled here.
Huchingson said qualified IHSS clients can receive up to 283 hours of assistance a month, depending on need.
She said there is a “steady stream” of applicants for IHSS assistance.
Huchingson said if someone applies for IHSS, a social worker will be sent to their home to see if they qualify.
Those who want to apply for the program can call Social Services Adult Services Office at 888-221-2204 or 707-995-4680.
As for other potential changes or updates on the overtime issue, Huchingson said she's poised and waiting to see if anything happens to overturn the judge's decision.
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Federal judge's ruling halts overtime for In-Home Supportive Services workers
- Elizabeth Larson
