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<\/a>Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor and Industry Nancy Walker announces an initiative to \u201cproactively\u201d investigate Minimum Wage Act violations in the home care industry on Sept. 2, 2026. (PACast)<\/p>\n\u201cPennsylvania\u2019s home care industry has been a focus of the Department of Labor & Industry for years, and responsible providers take seriously their obligation to follow wage and hour laws,\u201d Haney told the Capital-Star.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Haney and others have long pushed for the state to increase reimbursement, saying it lags behind other states.<\/p>\n
\u201cStrong enforcement protects workers from employers who break the law. Adequate Medicaid funding gives responsible employers the resources to raise wages and strengthen the workforce. Pennsylvania needs both,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The National Institute for Worker\u2019s Rights claims that employers violate minimum wage laws every day to the tune of\u00a0$15 billion annually<\/a>, a cost higher than losses from \u201call forms of property crime.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWage theft should not be tolerated. And we cannot talk about addressing Pennsylvania\u2019s home care worker shortage while allowing workers to go unpaid,\u201d said Braddy. \u201cFair treatment and fair pay have to be a part of our workforce strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n How will the initiative work?<\/p>\n An agency release described the initiative as \u201cproactive\u201d investigations in collaboration with partners like union leaders and advocates, rather than waiting for a worker to file a complaint. The state started sending notices to agencies, who collectively employ an estimated 100,000 home care workers, on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMinimum Wage Act complaints often involve unpaid overtime, unpaid hours worked, improper overtime calculations, inaccurate records or other pay practices that prevent workers from receiving the wages they are owed,\u201d read the release.\u00a0<\/p>\n For example, an employee who worked 30 hours with one client and also spent 20 hours with another client is entitled to 10 hours of overtime, as described by the state\u2019s\u00a0Home Care Workers\u2019 Rights<\/a>. On-duty hours include times when the client is sleeping and employers cannot deduct \u201csleep time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Workers must also be paid for time spent traveling between clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEmployee status under the (Minimum Wage Act) is determined by the economic realities of the working relationship, not by labels, tax forms or employment contracts,\u201d said\u00a0another state website geared toward home care workers<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Employers aren\u2019t allied to retaliate against employees who\u00a0file complaints<\/a>\u00a0under the law.<\/p>\n Low wages stifle fast-growing industry<\/p>\n Roughly 200,000 Pennsylvanians, both aged or disabled, rely on Medicaid to cover the pay for home care workers, also known as direct care workers. This workforce assists with activities of daily living, such as bathing, eating or toileting.<\/p>\n \u201cHome care workers make it possible for our fellow Pennsylvanians to live, to work, to love, to go to school and participate in the communities of their choice amongst their loved ones and friends,\u201d said Juliet Marsala, the deputy secretary for the state Office of Long-Term Living. \u201cThey provide people with the dignity and independence they deserve, so they can live their lives and reach their goals.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Most state payments filter through agencies, though a small number of enrollees pay their home care workers directly. But industry demand is growing.<\/p>\n