Wage Parity Updates
Wage Parity Certification Forms Due Next Week
As a reminder, the required Home Care Worker Wage Parity certification forms are due Thurs., Dec. 1st for Licensed Home Care Services Agencies (LHCSAs) and other entities that contract with Managed Care Organizations (MCOs), Certified Home Health Agencies (CHHAs), and/or Long Term Home Health Care Programs (LTHHCPs) serving New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
MCOs, CHHAs, and/or LTHHCPs that contract with LHCSAs are required to obtain a written certification on a quarterly basis from the LHCSA or other entity which attests to its Wage Parity compliance for defined certification periods and on a prospective basis. The form due Dec. 1, 2016 is for the time period of Dec. 1, 2016 through Feb. 28, 2017 and is sent only to the MCO, CHHA, and/or LTHHCP, not the state Department of Health (DOH).
As we have mentioned before, please include a date after your signature and add to the form the time period.
Additional information on the state’s Home Care Worker Wage Parity law can be found on DOH's wage parity website.
2017 Wage Parity Rates
DOH posted two Dear Administrator Letters for the 2017 wage parity levels for New York City and Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester counties.
New York City
The Nov. 15th NYC DAL provides CHHAs, LTHHCPs, and MCOs in New York City with an updated explanation of the existing rates as they relate to April and June 2016 amendments to align with recent changes to New York State's minimum wage law. As stated in the DAL:
“In accordance with the latest amendments, beginning December 31, 2016:
- for "large" employers (those with 11 or more total employees) the cash portion of the minimum rate shall be $11.00 per hour,
- for "small" employers (those with 10 or fewer total employees) the cash portion of the minimum rate shall be $10.50 per hour, and
- the benefit portion of the minimum rate shall be $4.09 per hour.”
The DAL outlines the computation of overtime (OT) as required at 1½ times the regular rate of compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as well as under the New York State Labor Law's provisions for minimum wage and for domestic workers. The DAL also includes additional language with examples: "this notice is provided to clarify the extent to which overtime pay can be used to satisfy the Total Compensation requirements of the Wage Parity Law. While overtime pay can be used to satisfy the Total Compensation requirement for a given hour of overtime, it cannot be used more generally to also satisfy the Total Compensation requirement for non-overtime hours.” LeadingAge NY will follow up with DOH to seek further clarification.
Total compensation is outlined in the table included in the DAL.
Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties
The Nov. 15th Long Island and Westchester counties DAL provides all CHHAs, LTHHCPs, and MCOs with the official notice pursuant to Public Health Law § 3614-c(3)(b)(iv). This law was amended in April and June of this year to align with recent changes to New York State's minimum wage law. The DAL states:
"In accordance with the latest amendments, beginning December 31, 2016:
- the cash portion of the minimum rate shall be $10.00 per hour, and
- the benefit portion of the minimum rate shall be $3.22 per hour."
As stated in earlier articles, as a result of the recent changes to the FLSA, OT is required at 1½ times the regular rate of compensation under the FLSA as well as under the New York State Labor Law's provisions for minimum wage and for domestic workers. This DAL also includes the additional OT language mentioned in the 2017 NYC wage parity announcement.
Questions on wage parity or these DALs should be emailed to HCWorkerParity@health.ny.gov. You can also contact us at LeadingAge NY.
Contact: Cheryl Udell, cudell@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871