On June 27, 2016 the Supreme Court left untouched a controversial labor regulation which advocates at the Center for Disability Rights (CDR) say is disrupting attendant services for disabled people. Today the Court did not grant certiorari in Home Care Association of America v. Weil. That case challenged the U.S. Department of Labor’s new rule requiring the payment of FLSA overtime and travel time to personal attendants and home health workers whose work ensures that people with disabilities are able to live in the community (the “Overtime rule”). At this point, the rule stands.

CDR and many other disability rights organizations have opposed the Overtime rule, because it disrupts the ability of consumers to schedule their attendants, creates a strong incentive to cap worker hours and limit their pay, and because it will disrupt attendant services at a time when there is already an ongoing shortage of attendants. ADAPT and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) filed two amici curiae briefs in the case, opposing the Overtime Rule.

“We are discouraged by the Court’s decision to not even hear the case,” said Adam Prizio, Manager of Government Affairs at CDR. “We have advocated, and continue to advocate, for increased wages for personal attendants, and to ensure that all people with disabilities are able to receive the services they need to live in the community. The overtime rule, however well-intentioned, creates obvious problems for attendants and for consumers, and it’s disappointing that the Court did not wish to consider those problems.”

In the eight months since the Overtime rule took effect, it has reduced access to attendant services in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and many other states. New York’s Department of Health made a $0.34 rate increase for personal care services, which is not sufficient to cover the cost of overtime, and which amounts to approximately half of the money that Governor Cuomo promised to advocates for consumer directed attendant services.

“An across-the-board rate adjustment does not address the incentive that agencies have to cap worker hours,” said Prizio. “It does not address the problem of travel time between consumers. It does not address the fact that the cost of overtime will tend to fall on people who have the most significant needs for services. And it does not ensure that workers who are underpaid will receive any more money for doing this work that secures the rights of people with disabilities to live in the community.”

Contact Adam Prizio or Bruce Darling for more info!