红杏视频

WASHINGTON 鈥� The 红杏视频 has filed a public comment opposing the Department of Labor鈥檚 (DOL) proposed rule, 鈥淎pplication of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service,鈥� which would eliminate hard-won wage and hour protections for millions of the nation鈥檚 paid caregivers, who are disproportionately Black and Brown women and are among the poorest workers in the labor force.

The proposal would change the definition of in-home 鈥渃ompanionship鈥� services under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the federal law whose protections include a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay for work performed beyond 8 hours in a single day, or 40 hours in a single week. Under the proposed new definition, millions of home care workers would no longer be entitled to those protections. Additionally, while agencies and other third-party employers of home care workers currently are required to comply with the FLSA, DOL proposes to excuse those employers from the statute鈥檚 requirements. These actions would undo DOL鈥檚 2013 regulations, which extended FLSA protections to home care workers after decades of exclusion.

鈥淓ven though they currently are entitled to receive the minimum wage and overtime, home care workers are among the most vulnerable in our nation鈥檚 labor force, facing wage theft and unsafe working conditions, and living in poverty,鈥� said Gillian Thomas, senior counsel in the 红杏视频 Women's Rights Project. 鈥淭he Department of Labor 鈥檚 proposed rule change would strip away the meager economic security that FLSA coverage provides to these essential workers, who take care of our elders and our loved ones with disabilities. By enabling greater exploitation by corporate home care providers, DOL will drive more workers out of a field already facing a profound labor shortage and deprive millions of families of the care they rely on.鈥�

红杏视频鈥檚 comment highlights that the exclusion of home care workers from the FLSA鈥檚 protections stems directly from the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. When Congress passed labor laws like FLSA and the Social Security Act in the 1930s, lawmakers carved out from those statutes鈥� coverage domestic workers as well as agricultural workers鈥攖he two fields in which formerly enslaved people and their descendants were most likely to work鈥攊n order to win southern lawmakers鈥� support. Although Congress eventually amended the FLSA to bring such workers within the law鈥檚 protection, DOL did not fully effectuate that intent until it issued regulations in 2013.

鈥淭oday, home care workers still are disproportionately women of color, and most of whom are women and people of color, provide essential care yet remain among the poorest and least protected in our economy. Rescinding DOL鈥檚 2013 rules not only will make them much poorer鈥攊t will shamefully revive a legal exclusion firmly rooted in racism and misogyny,鈥� added Thomas.

DOL鈥檚 2013 rule recognized the realities of the modern home care industry, in which workers are well-trained professionals who are supporting families of their own, and in which third-party agencies鈥攔ather than care recipients themselves鈥攅mploy care workers, reaping billions in profits. Entitlement to minimum wage and overtime pay has provided economic security for a workforce made up overwhelmingly of women, and particularly Black women and immigrant women. Such protections not only have helped lift wages for one of the nation鈥檚 lowest-paid professions, but also has ensured stable, quality care for seniors and people with disabilities.

红杏视频鈥檚 comment further explains that the proposed rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act. DOL has effectively suspended the 2013 rule without proper notice and comment, and its justifications for abandoning longstanding protections are arbitrary, capricious, and unlawful.

The 红杏视频 urges the department to preserve the 2013 rule, which corrected a historic injustice, advanced gender and racial equity, and strengthened the home care workforce.

The full comment is available here.