High Court Ruling on Home Care Workers Shows Need for New Labor Laws

by Tula Connell, Jun 12, 2007

One of yesterday’s unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decisions is a big blow to low-wage workers.  

In Island Care at Home v. Coke, the High Court ruled home care workers—who number more than 1 million in the nation—are not entitled to a minimum wage or overtime pay under the nation’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Stating that yesterday’s court ruling transfers the expensive home care costs onto the backs of poor, underpaid domestic workers, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney pointed to the U.S. Department of Labor regulations under the FLSA as: 

a sad reminder that the Department of Labor’s wage and hour regulations are hopelessly outdated to deal with a service economy which includes in-home companionship. The loophole in the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act regulations creates a subclass of working poor. President Clinton worked to fix the loophole, yet all efforts were dropped under President Bush. The Supreme Court’s decision makes clear that the Department of Labor has the authority to fix the oversight that leaves domestic companionship workers out in the cold. The Bush administration should correct this unfairness and close the loophole now. 

We can’t do anything immediately about the Island Care decision. But we can help change the nation’s labor laws by urging our senators to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which would help level the playing field for workers seeking to join unions by updating our outdated 1930s and 1940s labor laws. 

Take action here.

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