Providers Cut Hours, Raise Fees to Handle DOL Rule

Home care agencies are cutting caregiver hours and rescheduling case loads in order to avoid paying overtime as mandated by the U.S. Department of Labor. The results are declining profits and increased caregiver turnover, according to survey findings from Home Care Pulse, a firm focused on research centered on satisfaction and quality assurance within the […]

12 States Urge Supreme Court to Overturn DOL Rule

The attorneys general from Kansas and 11 other states have requested that the U.S. Supreme Court review a lower court’s decision to effectively extend minimum wage and overtime protections to approximately 2 million home care workers across the country, arguing that the ruling threatens residents’ access to in-home care. In August, the U.S. Court of […]

The Biggest Home Health Care News of 2015

Home Health Care News kept readers on the forefront of breaking news throughout the home health and home care industry in 2015. The year was marked by rapidly-changing regulations and a booming emergence of app-based caregiving services. From policy changes to major acquisitions and reports on the biggest players in the industry, here’s a list […]

Georgia Supreme Court Upholds Minimum Wage Protections

Home care workers hired by third-party agencies in Georgia are covered by the state’s minimum wage protections only when federal exceptions don’t apply, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled Monday. In 2013, a group of home care workers sued Southern Home Care Services Inc. and its subsidiary Res-Care Inc., arguing they weren’t being paid minimum wage […]

New Bills Would Reinstate Old Home Care Wage Rules

Legislation aimed at restoring overtime exemptions for home care workers has been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, just days before the Department of Labor is slated to actively enforce a rule extending federal minimum wage and overtime protections to such employees. Given the bill’s chances of survival, though, […]

Kansas Seeks $6.5 Million to Fund DOL Wage Rule

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) has submitted a request for $6.5 million in funding to cover costs associated with the recently implemented federal rules extending minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers. The request comes after state officials previously claimed the budget for their Medicaid program doesn’t account for […]

DOL to Delay Home Care Wage Rule Enforcement

A rule that makes nearly 2 million home care workers eligible for minimum wage and overtime protections won’t be enforced until 30 days after a federal appeals court mandates compliance, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday. Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on Aug. 21 that the […]

Home Care Providers Await Next Legal Moves in Wage Drama

Days after a federal appeals court upheld the Department of Labor’s rules making nearly 2 million home care workers eligible for minimum wage and overtime protections, state officials are taking steps to comply with the regulations, though Supreme Court review and further delay of implementation remains possible. Fifteen states already provide minimum wage and overtime protections […]

BusinessWeek: Wage Debate Continues for Home Health Workers

The debate over minimum wage in the home health care industry continues, as the most recent critics prove to be an unlikely group to criticize the movement: disability rights advocates, Bloomberg BusinessWeek reports.  The article follows the Department of Labor’s decision earlier this month to delay enforcement of its new rule extending minimum wage and […]