Stay of Execution: CDR Welcomes Temporary Stay of Overtime Rule Which Forces People Into Institutions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 31, 2014

CONTACT:

Adam Prizio – 603-867-4910

Stephanie Woodward – 585-269-9184

December 31, 2014 – The Center for Disability Rights (CDR) salutes the District Court’s decision to temporarily stay the Department of Labor’s overtime rule that was set to take effect tomorrow. The rule would have caused home care agencies to cap personal attendant hours in order to avoid the agencies having to pay attendants overtime and travel time. A number of trade associations filed suit against the Department of Labor over this rule. Today, the District Court for the District of Columbia granted an emergency stay, which means that the rule will not take effect until after the court has had a chance to hold hearings on its effects, and on the Department of Labor’s methods of crafting the rule.

This is the third victory for New York’s Disability Community this month on this issue. Early in December, in a meeting with CDR, Rochester ADAPT, and the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Association of New York State, Governor Cuomo approved a $5 million dollar emergency “bridge” fund to ensure that attendant services are not interrupted in New York. Two weeks ago, the District Court vacated the third-party employer section of the rule entirely, meaning that that part of the rule will have no effect. Today, the Court has put the brakes on the new definition of “companionship care” in the rule, which dramatically reduced the scope of what a personal attendant could do without becoming eligible for overtime and travel time.

Without the hard work of many disability advocates on this issue, the rule would have taken effect tomorrow, January 1, 2015: hours would be capped, people with disabilities would be forced into institutions, and attendants would lose part or all of their income. Although the Governor had established a fund to pay the overtime and travel time for attendants in the consumer directed program, there were concerns that the funding was insufficient to cover the actual cost. No similar provision was made for traditional agency-based home care. Home care agencies and fiscal intermediaries were already capping hours, reducing the income of attendants, and forcing attendants to leave the field. This put people with disabilities at risk of unwanted institutionalization.

While the court has only issued a temporary restraining order, it will rule on a preliminary injunction on this matter in early January. If the injunction is granted, the DOL will be restrained from implementing the rule until the case has been fully decided. In the meantime, CDR will continue to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities and attendants to ensure that disabled people can remain in their own homes and attendants can continue to maintain their income. We applaud Governor Cuomo for establishing bridge funding and we will continue advocating to fund the additional costs in case the legal challenge to these rules fails, and we will continue to work to ensure that all attendants receive a living wage.