In recent years, more workers have filed claims for unpaid overtime based on occupations that are potentially subject to specialized exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some of this litigation involves the...more
It is hard to believe that it has been three years now since the federal Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA) “companionship” exemption was strictly limited to direct-hire caregivers engaged in a narrower scope of activities,...more
Courts have been quick to allow one employee claiming to be due overtime to sue on behalf of others in the same job category by certifying a collective action, allowing that employee to represent the class and requiring the...more
Claims by home care workers for unpaid overtime have risen steadily since the U.S. Department of Labor, in 2015, eliminated the federal overtime exemptions that allowed agency employers essentially to pay no overtime wage...more
The federal government recently extended minimum wage and overtime protections to most home health care workers. If you are hiring a caregiver for yourself or an elderly loved one, you need to become familiar with the rules,...more
On June 22, 2016, the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued two communications that underscore its continued focus on fraud in home health care, along with the role of physicians as “gate keepers” in authorizing...more
On June 27, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the plaintiffs’ petition for a writ of certiorari in Home Care Association of America v. Weil, leaving the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Home Care Rule intact. The Home...more
Wage and hour lawsuits are being filed against employers under federal and state wage and hour laws at a record rate. Most wage and hour claims allege the employer failed to pay employees for off-the-clock work, failed to pay...more
As 2014 wound to a close, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a significant decision impacting third-party agencies that provide in-home care to the elderly and ailing. On December 22, 2014,...more
What Happened? The ongoing legal battle over the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Final Rule changing the definitions of “companionship services” and live-in domestic employees again turned against employers on August 21,...more
Winds of Change Blowing Across the Hospice Landscape - Recent Medicare developments indicate that end-of-life health care providers can expect to face continuing change in an already dynamic sector. These latest turns...more
In the latest litigation chapter involving the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule extending minimum wage and overtime requirements to certain home care workers, a home care industry coalition has taken its challenge of the rule...more
In an order dated October 20, 2015, pursuant to the D.C. Circuit’s mandate issued on October 13, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon entered summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Home...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently reinstated regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), extending federal minimum wage and overtime requirements to home health workers employed by third-party...more
The U.S. Labor Department has now announced that, beginning on November 12, it will start enforcing its revised regulations governing the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and Section...more
As we previously reported, this past August, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Department of Labor’s Final Rule imposing sweeping changes to the former companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act. ...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) promulgated a rule that brings home care workers, employed by third parties, within the protection of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). As a result, those home care workers employed by an...more
On August 21, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Home Care Rule and reversed the lower court’s decisions vacating the new rule. On October 6, 2015, the U.S....more
A U.S. Department of Labor final regulation prohibiting third-party home care agencies and other third-party employers from taking advantage of the Companionship and Live-In Domestic Worker minimum wage and overtime...more
Agencies and other third-party employers of live-in household employees and home companionship providers, take note: the long-delayed regulations reclassifying many of these workers as non-exempt employees entitled to minimum...more
On August 21, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Department of Labor's Home Care Rule. Based on that decision, the effective date of the Home Care Rule is October 13, 2015....more
As we recently reported, the U.S. Department of Labor's changes in its regulations governing the Fair Labor Standard Act's Section 13(a)(15) "companionship" exemption and Section 13(b)(21) overtime exemption for "live-in...more
Reversing a decision celebrated by employers in the home care industry, the U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that home health care agencies must comply with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) 2013 domestic service...more
On August 21, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) reinstated Department of Labor (DOL) regulations that require home care agencies and other third-party employers of...more
In a major defeat for the home health care industry, on August 21, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision that had blocked issuance of an interpretation making thousands of currently exempt workers...more