The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has recovered $844,274 in back wages in connection with employee misclassification at home-based care organizations. Two recent DOL investigations found that employees at two Louisiana-based companies — We Care Homes Inc. and Special Needs Unlimited LLC — misclassified employees as independent contractors. In total, 158 employees were misclassified as […]
Department of Labor
The independent-contractor pendulum in home-based care could be swinging back in favor of pro-union policies. Providers should take note of potential changes coming down the pike. For instance, there are currently proposed changes that would have an impact on the test used to determine whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee. Those changes […]
Home health enforcement efforts have been on the rise in 2021, especially over the past couple of months. There have been developments with at least two multi-million-dollar fraud schemes, with the watchdog arm of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also releasing findings from a large hospice-related audit. On July 15, federal […]
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) held a virtual press conference on Wednesday to make a series of demands on behalf of home care workers. The press conference also allowed a few workers to directly share their personal hardships during the public health crisis. As of April 9, over 9,000 health care workers had contracted […]
A Texas-based physician has been found guilty for taking part in a $16 million Medicare scheme. On Oct. 7, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that, after a six-day trial, Dr. Yolanda Hamilton was convicted of a single count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to solicit and receive health care […]
Federal watchdogs continue to ramp up oversight of home care companies for minimum wage and overtime pay violations, a Wednesday report from Bloomberg Law suggests. Meanwhile, caregiver registries are creating uncertainty as to whether they should be considered employers. Over the past few months, several home care companies across the U.S. have been met with […]
The U.S. Department of Labor has updated guidance that its field staff will use in investigating home care registries to determine whether they are directly employing workers. It is a “longstanding position” of the DOL that the typical home care registry does not directly employ caregivers, according to the July 13 bulletin. However, registries become […]
While this year’s presidential election has moved far beyond what may be considered normal for a campaign season, the way politicians discuss labor markets still doesn’t give due credit to the growing home health care workforce and other industries, according to a recent story from New York Magazine. Simply, the presidential nominees still focus predominantly […]
The home health industry has been hammered with new requirements over the last few years, particularly when it comes to labor laws. And even as providers scramble to comply with new regulations, the number of lawsuits against them has soared. Between new overtime requirements, higher wage rates and salary exemption changes, the home health industry […]
A new wage rule that increases overtime benefits for millions of American workers is expected to put some wage pressures on employers across many industries, but how much it will impact home health care is still up for debate. The Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued its new overtime salary exemption limits that will become effective December […]
Subscribe
Receive industry updates and breaking news from HHCN