The U.S. Department of Labor announced its efforts to protect care industry workers' rights and protections are going well.
Since its launch last year, the initiative by DOL's Wage and Hour Division completed more than 1,600 investigations and found violations in 80% of its reviews, DOL said in a Nov. 16 news release. The initiative recovered more than $28.6 million in back wages and damages on for almost 25,000 workers and assessed almost $1.3 million in penalties "for employers who willfully violated federal law."
"In the U.S., women make up more than 80% of the people employed as nursing assistants, home and personal care workers and a disproportionate number are women of color, notably Black women," Wage and Hour Division Principal Deputy Administrator Jessica Looman said in the release. "These dedicated professionals work long hours to provide compassionate care to people in need."
Those workers don't get the same care from their employers, Looman said, according to the release.
"Yet too many find themselves working for employers who deprive them of their full wages and benefits they've earned for their hard work," she said, the release reported. "We are determined to make sure these workers' rights are respected and protected."
The Wage and Hour Division kicked off the nationwide initiative with an aim of improving compliance by nursing facilities, residential care, home health services and other care-focused industry employers. The industry has "made significant progress in protecting workers' rights and protections," the news release said.
The most common violations found by Wage and Hour Division included failures to pay overtime or the federal minimum wage and misclassifying employees as independent contractors, according to the release.
"The initiative found violations often hurt women of color – particularly in the Black, African American, Hispanic and Asian, including Filipina, communities – who are often employed as home care aides, certified nursing aides and licensed practical nurses," the news release said.
The initiative also has conducted outreach programs to educate employers and workers about their rights and responsibilities under federal law, including how to report and avoid violations of federal law, the release reported.
