Hickenlooper, Murray, Kim, Ocasio-Cortez Introduce Bill to Protect Home Care Workers

Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act would codify home care and workers’ rights to minimum wage, overtime pay
Bill comes as Trump, MAGA Republicans strip workers of their rights
WASHINGTON –
Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper, Patty Murray, Andy Kim, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced their bicameral
Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act
to stop the Trump administration from ripping away home care workers’ right to minimum wage and overtime pay.
“Home care workers do the difficult and essential work of caring for our seniors and people with disabilities. Denying them minimum wage and overtime protections makes no sense and we shouldn’t stand for it,”
said Hickenlooper, member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
“All workers deserve respect and fair pay.”
“In Washington state and across our country, home care workers ensure that seniors and people with disabilities can live in their homes with dignity and respect. They play a vital role in our communities and too many of them are struggling to make ends meet on the low wages they’re receiving,
” said Murray.
“Instead of supporting these workers, Donald Trump wants to overturn a rule that ensures that home care workers receive the same basic minimum wage and overtime protections as everyone else. That’s why today we are Introducing the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act. This bill makes sure that home care workers and domestic workers at least have the basic wage protections they deserve and can continue to earn a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. No loopholes, exceptions, or sabotage from a billionaire President without a clue.”
“No one should get less than a fair wage for their work in our country,”
said Kim.
“As the need for caregivers only grows, we cannot allow the Trump administration to abandon home care and domestic workers to live in poverty. Care workers go above and beyond to look after our loved ones. Congress needs to step up to codify the fair pay they deserve and support their essential service at the heart of addressing our country’s care crisis.”
“Congress has a moral obligation to protect those who care for our most vulnerable communities and home care workers are the backbone of our long-term care system,”
said Ocasio-Cortez.
“I am proud to introduce the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act with Senator Patty Murray to finally codify the minimum wage and overtime protections our home care workers deserve and prevent future attacks on their livelihoods.”
Home care workers have been unfairly excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act. The
Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act
would codify minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers in federal labor law and expand overtime protections to domestic workers as well.
There are more than three million home care workers who support almost 10 million people with disabilities and older adults.
1 in 5 Coloradans
are family caregivers, who are often unpaid.
Last July, the Trump administration announced it would roll back a 2013 rule and strip home care workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay. If the Trump administration’s proposal is finalized, home care workers living in states with no additional wage protections will lose their right to minimum wage and overtime protections.
Full text of the bill available
HERE
.
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