Federal Court Gives Caregivers Wage Protections They Deserve

Caregivers Wage Protections. Last month saw a major courtroom victory for caregivers as a federal court agreed that employees of healthcare agencies who provide in-home care for the elderly, sick and disabled are entitled to the same minimum wage and overtime protections as other workers. As many of you know from previous jobs, agency caregivers who do the same important work that you do today often struggle to earn a decent wage and enjoy the strong quality of life they deserve. Their hours are long and the pay minimal. With this court decision, they will now be paid more fairly for the hours they work. The Department of Labor has posted quite a bit of information about it on their website. While we’d like to see all caregivers have the full control over their schedules and pay that CareLinx caregivers have, we recognize that not all companies share or appreciate our pro-caregiver way of doing business. In fact, some in our industry, such as the Home Care Association of America and other industry groups, even fought against the regulation in court, sadly putting their financial interests ahead of those who labor on their behalf. Rest assured, we recognize the importance of you, our caregivers, in CareLinx' continued success. Our commitment to supporting YOUR career interests and YOUR financial health is reflected in the very deliberate way we set up the business, which enables you to control all aspects of the work you do, from scheduling to hourly rates to the assignments you take. Many of you have told us you're now seeing your income rise as much as 30-50 percent compared to what you made doing comparable work via an agency. We are heartened to see elder care and caregiver issues becoming a front and center issue among those in positions of power. A number of the presidential candidates are beginning to talk about these themes while on the campaign trail, and we're also seeing those in Washington begin to earnestly address the challenges ahead as more Americans become seniors. We're proud to be part of the solutions, providing affordable access to quality, reliable care, and are, of course, grateful to all our caregivers who make it possible to do so.

CareLinx CEO Sherwin Sheik