Senator slams proposed federal home-care rule ahead of appeals case

With oral arguments set to begin in the U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. District) case challenging a proposed Department of Labor (DOL) rule that plaintiffs said would damage the quality and affordability of in-home domestic care for the elderly and disabled, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) released a statement on Thursday in support of the plaintiffs.

“I hope the court will agree with the previous court ruling that this rule is impractical and attempts to impose burdensome and costly labor requirements in the home, where standards must remain flexible due to the individual nature of care for those in need of companion care,” Roberts, a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said. “This is regulatory overreach gone haywire.”

In the case, Home Health Care Association of America, et. Al. v. Weil, at issue is the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division’s  “Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service” rule, which essentially voids the companionship exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The exemption allowed elderly and disabled citizens to receive home care needed to remain independent without having to comply with FLSA tracking requirements, which critics have said are too burdensome for older patients to follow.

In April, Roberts and U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) submitted an amicus brief related to this case from members of the U.S. Congress to the court. In addition to Roberts, the brief was signed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY); Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN); and Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Marco Rubio (R-FL), John Boozman (R-AR), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Richard Burr (R-NC). U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, and the attorneys general of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota, Texas, Tennessee and Wisconsin also filed a brief in support of the plaintiffs to prevent implementation of the DOL rule and ensure access to quality companion care for their constituents.