Federal court upholds wage laws for home health workers

The Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated a law that guarantees overtime and minimum wage protection to home healthcare workers. Home health is one of the lowest paid occupations, but one of the fastest growing in the nation.

The median annual wage for home health workers was $10 per hour, or less than $21,000 per year, in 2012 (which is the most recent data available), CBS News reports. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) issued a statement that applauded the court's decision.

"This is a tremendous victory for the two-million-plus home care workers in America who, for so many years, were unjustly shut out of our nation’s basic wage and hour protections," Christine Owens, NELP executive director said in the statement. "We are thrilled that this historic ruling will remedy an injustice millions of dedicated, hardworking caregivers have had to tolerate for far too long. It will ensure that home care workers finally enjoy the same basic workplace protections enjoyed by most other workers in our nation."

Read more about the decision here.

Megan Combs

Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.