New Initiative Aims to Protect Homecare Workers’ Wages

PHILADELPHIA—Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Secretary Nancy A. Walker announced the launch of Standing Up for Home Care Workers, a labor law enforcement initiative Walker said is designed to protect homecare workers’ wages and ensure homecare agencies and other third-party employers comply with Pennsylvania law.

Led by L&I and carried out by its Bureau of Labor Law Compliance (BLLC), the initiative was supported by leaders from the Pennsylvania Departments of Human Services (DHS), and Aging, SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania, labor partners, worker advocates and homecare workers. Walker said it will use investigations, outreach and partnerships to focus enforcement in an industry where workers are particularly vulnerable to wage violations and where complaints are substantial.

“Homecare workers take care of our Pennsylvania families,” said Walker. “They help seniors and people with disabilities live safely, independently and with dignity in their own homes. These workers are entitled to receive the wages they are owed for hours worked. Through Standing Up for Home Care Workers, the Shapiro Administration is putting our enforcement resources where they are needed and using the tools available under Pennsylvania law to make sure workers are paid for all the time they work and employers are held accountable when they fail to follow the law.”

BLLC said it is sending notices to homecare agencies to launch investigations into potential wage-related violations. Those investigations will examine whether covered workers are receiving the wages they are owed for all hours worked, including overtime when required by law.

Roughly 40% of Minimum Wage Act complaints in Pennsylvania come from homecare workers. These complaints represent only a small fraction of worker exploitation in this industry, making it a priority for state wage enforcement. Minimum Wage Act complaints often involve unpaid overtime, unpaid hours worked, improper overtime calculations, inaccurate records or other pay practices that prevent workers from receiving the wages they are owed.

Under Pennsylvania law, most homecare workers employed by third-party agencies are protected by state minimum wage and overtime law. Covered workers must be paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked and overtime when they work more than 40 hours a week.

As part of the initiative, BLLC will investigate homecare agencies operating across Pennsylvania, with the investigations covering agencies that collectively employ an estimated nearly 100,000 Pennsylvania homecare workers. L&I said it will continue working with state agency partners, labor organizations, worker advocates, care recipients and community organizations to identify potential violations, support workers and help employers understand their responsibilities under Pennsylvania law.