The Direct Care News 
For direct care workers and their allies April 23, 2013
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Stakeholder Stories Explain Need for Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay
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 A new resource explains how all home care stakeholders--clients and their family members, employers and workers--will benefit once home care workers are assured the right to minimum wage and overtime pay. Produced by PHI and funded by the Ford Foundation, We Can't Wait! is a collection of testimonials gathered by DCA and our allies. A few facts and statistics about the regulations and the home care workforce are sprinkled throughout the 68-page publication, but it is almost entirely devoted to dozens of stories from key home care stakeholders. Read more. |
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Direct from Washington, D.C.
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 Immigration Reform Bill Introduced in Senate: On April 16, the bipartisan U.S. Senate "Gang of Eight" introduced the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S.744), a bill that seeks to create a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants currently living and working in the U.S. Immigration reform can significantly impact the direct care workforce, given the growing demand for skilled, dedicated direct care workers and that many "gray market" home care workers, in particular, are without proper authorization to be in the U.S.
Senate HELP Committee Holds Perez Hearing: On April 18, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (known as the HELP Committee) held a hearing for Thomas E. Perez, nominee for Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). Direct Care Alliance looks forward to Perez's confirmation and to working with him to improve direct care jobs -- including by finalizing DOL's proposed regulations to extend the Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and overtime protections to home care workers.
Letter Urges Congress to Protect and Support SNAP: Direct Care Alliance signed onto a letter urging the U.S. Congress to protect and support the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The program, which is often referred to as food stamps, offers nutrition assistance to millions of low income individuals--including direct care workers--and their families. |
What I Told the White House About Why We Home Care Workers Need Fair Pay
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 | | Charlean Nichols (L) at OMB |
Earlier this month, I got an opportunity I had never dreamed of when I started doing home care three years ago. I went to Washington, D.C. with Direct Care Alliance and other advocates to tell people at the White House Office of Management and Budget why we home care workers need the same basic rights as other health care workers. Nursing assistants in nursing homes are guaranteed minimum wage and overtime pay, but we home care workers aren't, and that's not right. It's been more than a year since President Obama announced proposed regulations to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to us home care workers under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The regulations haven't been enacted yet, and some people are starting to worry that they won't be. We went to the budget office while it was reviewing the rules to explain why they are so important to us. Read more from Charlean Nichols.
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The Direct Care Alliance is the national advocacy voice of direct care workers in long-term care. We empower workers to speak out for better wages, benefits, respect, and working conditions, so more people can commit to direct care as a career. We also convene powerful allies nationwide to build consensus for change.
If you have comments on this issue of The Direct Care News or ideas for future issues, please contact Elise Nakhnikian at 646-823-7434, enakhnikian@directcarealliance.org. |
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