The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently launched an initiative to protect professional caregivers from wage violations and reminded employers to abide by workers’ rights laws. 

The effort, launched Nov. 23 near the conclusion of National Home Care and Hospice Month, will allocate resources towards educating essential care workers and their communities about their rights to minimum wage and overtime pay and how to file complaints in case of rights violations, a DOL press release said.

“Professional caregivers have always been and continue to be some of our nation’s most essential workers,” Acting Wage and Hour Administrator Jessica Looman said in the release. “We look to them to care for us and our families and they deserve our appreciation, respect and protection.”

The initiative will also address misclassification of workers as independent contractors, an illegal practice used to deprive workers of legally earned wages, among other protections, the release said. A “strong enforcement component” will be incorporated to reduce violations of workers’ rights.

The DOL emphasized in the release that women of color are disproportionately among the lowest-paid workers in the country and comprise a majority of the caregivers in the United States.

The initiative is led by the DOL Wage and Hour Division, which will utilize outreach efforts and strong partnerships with state and local agencies to ensure employers understand their legal responsibilities, the release said.

“In fiscal year 2021, the division recovered more than $38.7 million in back wages for healthcare industry workers, and identified misclassification of workers as independent contractors as an increasingly common violation cited by investigators,” the release said.

The who seek to learn more about the laws or have questions can contact the helpline at 866-4US-WAGE. Workers can call regardless of immigration status and receive help in more than 200 languages.