Thank the President and Secretary Perez for a Landmark Victory: Help celebrate and cement our victory by signing a thank you letter to President Obama and DOL Secretary Perez for extending Fair Labor Standards Act protections to home care workers. Visit the DOL webpage for more information about the regulations and to register for upcoming webinars on the topic.

DCA Signs on to Letter Supporting Reintroduction of the Health Equity and Accountability Act: DCA has signed on to a letter to the Congressional Tri-Caucus--made up of the Congressional Hispanic, Black and Asian Pacific American Caucuses--supporting their efforts to eliminate health disparities and to reintroduce the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA). HEAA builds on the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare) to further eliminate health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities and others. Direct care workers stand to benefit from such efforts, as more than half of the workforce are members of a racial or ethnic minority, 20% are foreign born, and 30% are uninsured. Direct care workers also have higher than average rates of chronic conditions and one of the highest rates of on-the-job injuries.

Long-Term Care Commission Report Addresses Direct Care Workforce Issues: The Commission on Long-Term Care, which was charged with creating a plan to establish, implement and finance a "comprehensive, coordinated, and high-quality system" of long-term services and supports, released its final report on September 18. Many direct care workforce issues are addressed in the Commission's report and the alternative recommendations from five members of the commission, including wages, career ladders and lattices, improved state standards and establishment of a certification process for home care workers. Read summaries of the Commission's recommendations and the alternative recommendations.