Home Care Associations Seek Stay By SCOTUS Of New Wage-And-Hour Rules, As The Effective Date Of DOL Wage-And-Hour Regulations Quickly Approaches

Recently, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Home Care Association of America, et al. v. Weil, that the Department of Labor's ("DOL") regulations about the inapplicability of certain statutory exemptions for third-party employers of home care workers are enforceable and that the federal minimum wage and overtime rules will apply to these types of home care workers. As a result, unless the Rule's application is stopped or otherwise delayed, those acting in the home care industry need to be aware of changes soon to take effect, and employers in particular must be ready to meet their new obligations, as of October 15, 2015.

Concerned about the fast-approaching effective date, almost immediately after the ruling was entered, three home care agency associations sought a stay of the ruling. First, they unsuccessfully sought a stay with the D.C. Circuit. Then, following the Court of Appeal's refusal to stay the matter, the challengers now are seeking the United States Supreme Court's intervention on the issue. In particular, in order for the parties to seek a ruling by the United States Supreme Court, the challenging associations are requesting that the Supreme Court stay the Circuit Court's mandate giving effect to the rules until after the Court has an opportunity to consider a petition for certiorari that they intend on filing soon.1

At issue in Home Care Association of America is whether the DOL had statutory authority to promulgate its 2013 regulations establishing, among other changes, that third-party employers of home care workers cannot claim certain statutory exemptions.2 Historically, under the statutory exemptions for companionship services and live-in workers, home care workers were excluded from the federal laws for minimum wage and overtime protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). Yet, the DOL-issued Regulations did away with that exemption for these employees. The D.C. Circuit's recent August 2015 decision reversed an earlier district court ruling that had held the DOL acted outside its statutory authority in promulgating the Regulations, thereby vacating the third-party...