Judge Overturns Companionship Exemption Regulation

The court in the companionship services exemption case, Home Care Assoc. of America v. Weil, vacated the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) new regulation narrowly defining companionship services, on Wed., Jan. 14. The court reasoned that the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) describes companionship services as services provided to individuals who are “unable to care for themselves.” According to the court, by practically excluding "care" from the definition of companionship services, DOL violated the intent of the law and attempted to do by regulation what can only be done via legislation to be taken up by Congress. As a result of this decision and the court's Dec. 22 decision, home care agencies may continue to avail themselves of the companionship services exemption from the FLSA's overtime provisions, based on the long-standing, broader definition of companionship services. DOL initially issued the Home Care Final Rule to extend minimum wage and overtime protections to the growing number of home care workers. DOL continues to stand by the Final Rule and is expected to consider additional legal options in this matter.

Read LeadingAge NY’s entire memo to members on the court ruling here.

Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871