Toolkit Available to Help Consumer-Directed Programs Implement New FLSA Rule
Participant-directed home care programs can use a new toolkit to ensure appropriate implementation of the new rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that affect the wages of home care workers.
The National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services developed the 28-page toolkit to “help states, consumer direction programs, Financial Management Services (FMS) providers, and other stakeholders understand how these new rules may impact their programs,” the toolkit says.
On January 1, a federal rule change is scheduled to take effect that will extend federal minimum-wage and overtime protections to home care workers for the first time under FLSA.
Among other tools, the toolkit includes several flowcharts designed to help participant-directed programs to determine whether caregivers must be compensated for sleep time or travel time, or whether the rule change still applies in a live-in caregiving scenario.
A webinar, scheduled for September 8, will further explain the toolkit.
The National Resource Center for Participant-Directed Services will update its website in the coming months with additional resources clarifying the FLSA rule change.
Additional PHI resources about FLSA implementation can be found at the PHI Campaign for Fair Pay website.
— by Matthew Ozga
