Will Labor Day Be a Cause for Celebration?

Each Labor Day we pay tribute to our nation’s workers for their contributions to helping make America prosperous and to recognize their social and economic achievements.

Yet one workforce – 2 million home care workers — has been left behind.

Home care workers — the fastest-growing occupation in the nation — are still excluded from basic federal labor protections that most workers have enjoyed since the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) was implemented 40 years ago.

In December 2011, President Obama pledged to right this wrong by extending minimum wage and overtime protections under FLSA to the home care workforce.

Home care workers are still waiting.

It is time for President Obama to fulfill his promise and release the final regulation on the companionship exemption.

For this Labor Day to be a real cause for celebration, home care workers must finally be guaranteed fair pay.

— by Jodi Sturgeon, PHI President