Home care workers are not entitled to minimum wage or overtime pay, according to the U.S. Supreme Court, which handed down its ruling this week.
The Supreme Court ruled that courts should defer to the Department of Labor, which in 1975 proposed regulations exempting home care workers from federal minimum wage and overtime laws. The Service Employees International Union was one of several groups to protest the ruling, arguing that it would worsen the shortage of home care workers. Home care is increasingly being seen as an alternative to institutional care.
Still, the ruling’s impact will vary across the country because many states have separate minimum wage and overtime laws that apply to home care workers. The case applies to only those home care workers employed by agencies.
