Protect Home-Care Workers' Wages and Overtime Rights - They’re Essential!

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to oppose the Trump-led Department of Labor's proposed rule that would strip millions of home-care workers of their federal minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Along with a series of villains undoing decades of progress in in non-discrimination law, this change would further undo crucial progress made in 2013 when home-care workers were rightfully recognized as deserving fair compensation. As you may know, the proposed rule is deeply flawed and based on outdated stereotypes about caregiving work. It fails to acknowledge the essential nature of home-care services and the economic realities faced by workers in this field. It’s a deliberate, racist and biased attack on home-care workers, many of whom are predominantly women of color and immigrants. Yet all home care and child care workers are already struggling financially. Nearly 60% of these workers rely on public assistance to make ends meet. Stripping away FLSA protections would push this vulnerable workforce even deeper into poverty. This rule change would have far-reaching consequences for our care economy. We are already facing severe shortages in the home-care industry, with long waitlists for services. Some families can’t support themselves well and care for children. These home-and-child care workers are essential. By potentially forcing workers to choose between staying in their underpaid jobs or seeking better-compensated work elsewhere, this rule would accelerate the collapse of our care system. This is not just an issue of worker rights; it's a matter of ensuring quality care for seniors and people with disabilities who rely on these essential services. The ACLU and National Domestic Workers Alliance have rightly pointed out that this discriminatory rule is not only harmful but also UNLAWFUL. It ignores Congress's attempts to extend FLSA protections to domestic workers and disregards the realities of the modern home-care business. Please use your position to advocate for the rights of home-care workers and protect the stability of our care economy. We need policies that value and support these essential workers, not ones that strip away their basic labor protections. What happened to helping essential workers? Trump has abandoned them, because he and his cabinet see no value in them, only people to be exploited. I urge you to take immediate action to oppose this change to fairness by the Trump Department of Labor rule.