Member Article

The United States Supreme Court declined yesterday to hear arguments in Home Care Association of America, et al. v. Weil, a case challenging the Department of Labor’s Final Rule that extended overtime and minimum wage protections to previously exempt home care workers.

The DOL rule, which has been working its way through various courts since 2013, revises the “companionship services” definition and specifies that the exemptions for companionship services and live-in domestic service employees may only be claimed by individuals or families — not by third-party employers such as home health agencies. The Rule effectively shrinks the companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and brings nearly two million new workers under the federal wage and hour statute's domain.

A blog entry posted by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) stated that the organization would continue its lobbying efforts on the issue noting that legislation is pending in Congress “that would reinstate the exemptions that had been in effect since 1975.”