Labor & Employment Law

Proposed Legislation Seeks To Expand FLSA Coverage To In-Home Workers

By Mark Tabakman

Under the proposed Workforce Empowerment Act (S. 3696), introduced in the Senate on August 3,  2010, in-home direct care workers who work more than twenty hours per week will be covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The bill would amend the FLSA, which currently exempts from its minimum wage/overtime protections individuals who work on a 'casual basis in domestic service. 29 USC 213(a)(15).  A companion bill has also been introduced in the House of Representatives.  These workers typically provide assistance to their clients with such activities as bathing and eating.

The proposed bill's Findings state that in the direct industry 'working conditions are often difficult and turnover is high because of low pay, access to health insurance and other benefits, strenuous conditions…'  The Findings also report that 13,000,000 Americans are currently receiving such services and that 'two-thirds of older adults will need some form of long-term care at some point in their lives.'

The proposed amendment defines 'casual employment' as employment which is irregular or intermittent and which is not performed by an individual whose vocation is the provision of babysitting or companionship services.  Employment will not be considered 'casual' if the hours worked in a week, for whatever number of employers, exceeds twenty (20).

Is this an initiative of the Obama Administration?  Any proposed expansion of the coverage of the FLSA is more likely to come from a Democratic Administration in any event.  I know this---there will certainly be record keeping, timekeeping issues if this law goes into effect because many of these workers have significant 'down time' during the day, when they are able (?) to have free time to follow their own pursuits.

Are they engaged to be waiting or waiting to be engaged when these 'chunks' of down time pop up?  Who knows?  Working time issues are amongst the grayest under the FLSA.  I guess we will see.
 

Full post as published by Wage & Hour - Development & Highlights on August 24, 2010 (boomark / email).