A federal district court judge in Washington DC ordered today a stay or delay of the entire US Department of Labor new regulations impacting overtime, wait time and travel time for home care workers until a January 15th hearing in Washington DC, following up his ruling last week on December 22nd that struck down a major part of those regulations impacting third party employers who hire home care workers. This ruling impacts the entire regulations set to go into effect across the nation tomorrow, January 1st. that removed exemptions to overtime for many home care workers.
As a result, state officials in California said that the State will suspend implementation of overtime, scheduled to begin tomorrow (January 1st) for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers until at least January 15th. State officials will be releasing today an official notice to the counties – called an “All County Letter” that will outline the details of suspending implementation of overtime, travel time and wait time for IHSS and Waiver Personal Care Services workers across the state.
Workers will be paid for work as they do now, with no cap on hours, at least through January 15th. What happens after that point depends on how the federal judge rules – and what further steps the federal government decides to take to appeal – and also how the states decide to interpret the actions of both.
This action by the federal judge in Washington DC continues his previous ruling on December 22nd that struck down a major part of the US Department of Labor’s home care overtime regulations impacting “third party employers” of home care workers saying that the federal agency exceeded its authority by making a change to existing federal law that requires Congressional action to change it through passage and enactment of new legislation. US Department of Labor officials expressed “serious disagreement” with the ruling and are considering an appeal.
DDS Comments and Guidelines:
This information is available from California's Department of Developmental Services: Guidance on 5.82% Rate Adjustment.