This is a great article on thinkprogress.org written by Bryce Covert about how the federal appeals court has reinstated a rule that gives home care workers minimum wage and overtime protections. He explains that in 2013 the DOL tried to push what's known as the "companionship exemption" through, but the US District Judge vacated the change. It's a very interesting article.

Court Ruling Grants Home Care Workers Minimum Wage, Overtime Protections

By Bryce Covert

A federal appeals court hasreinstated a rule changethat is meant to provide home care workers minimum wage and overtime protections.

In 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL)announcedthat it would make changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act so that this workforce, who care for the elderly and disabled in their homes, would be guaranteed the same labor protections as all other workers. But U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a decisionvacating the changein January, saying the DOL doesnt have authority to redefine the loophole it was trying to close, known as the companionship exemption.

The court in Washington ruled Friday that the department does in fact have that authority. The Departments decision to extend the FLSAs protections to those employees is grounded in a reasonable interpretation of the statute and is neither arbitrary nor capricious, Judge Sri Srinivasanwroteon behalf of the court.

While there are still potential legal hurdles that the rule change could face, most will likely take the district courts decision to mean that home care workers have new rights. States would be well advised, and employers would be well advised, to take this decision as final and begin acting, Christine L. Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, told ThinkProgress. While the DOL had originally held off on enforcing the rule for six months while the challenge wound its way through the courts, that time has lapsed. I cant speak for the DOL, but my assumption is that it believes it has authority to begin enforcement now that this decision has been reversed in district court.

This workforce, which is90 percentfemale and half people of color, hasnt been eligible for minimum wage or overtime pay since 1974, when they fell under the companionship exemption given the idea that they merely provided company to their clients. So while their average wages come to$9.61 an hour,nearly a thirdof those surveyed in New York City made less than $15,000 a year andnearly 40 percentof the entire workforce has to rely on public benefits to get by.

The low pay has prompted these workers tojoin the fightto be paid at least $15 an hour, and they havealready secured the first victory: home care workers in Massachusetts who are members of 1199SEIU reached an agreement with the governor to be paid at least that much.

Home care workers are in a huge and rapidly expanding industry. Nearly 2.5 million people are employed in this line of work, making it one of the largest occupations, and the number of jobs is expected to grow70 percentby 2020. Even so, demand is expected tooutpace supplyover the next decade as the country ages, something that could be eased with higher pay and benefits.

Source: http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2015/08/21/3693967/appeals-court-home-care-minimum-wage/