WASHINGTON, D.C.: A federal judge has issued a temporary stay on Department of Labor regulations meant to expand minimum wage and overtime pay to home health care workers.
The rule, which was set to take effect Jan. 1, would have required all employers of home care workers, including third party employers, to consider whether employees are caring for their clients.
If employees are spending more than 20 percent of their day providing care – preparing meals, helping them get dressed or use the bathroom – then the employer would not be eligible for the companionship services exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
On New Year’s Eve, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon temporarily restrained the rule until Jan. 15. His action follows an earlier ruling in which he struck down the part of the DOL rule that would have extended overtime and minimum wage to home health companion workers employed by third-party businesses…