In This Report:

- I. Spotlight On Wage-And-Hour Risks For The Home Healthcare Industry

- II. Potential Loss Of The Companionship Services Exemption

- III. Other Common Types Of Claims

- A. Misclassification As Exempt From The FLSA

- The Professional Exemption — Duties Requirements

- Other Exemptions — Duties Requirements

- Compensation Requirements — An Overview

- Compensation Requirements — Special Issues For Home Healthcare Employers

- B. Claims By Non-Exempt Employees

- Meal Periods

- Compensable Work Outside Of Patient Care Duties

- Travel Time

- C. Independent Contractors

- D. Joint Employment

- IV. Preparing For The Future

- Excerpt from Spotlight On Wage-And-Hour Risks For The Home Healthcare Industry:

Class and collective actions against healthcare employers under the Fair Labor standards Act (FLSA), the federal wage and hour law, have increased dramatically in recent years, and providers of home healthcare services have not been immune. Plaintiffs’ attorneys recently filed class action lawsuits against two of the nation’s largest home healthcare providers alleging that clinicians, including registered nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists, were improperly classified as exempt employees and incorrectly compensated under the FLSA and state law.

Other class actions have been filed in various states, accusing home healthcare providers of FLSA violations such as failing to pay for overtime, work during meal periods, off-the-clock work, and travel time. The U.S.Department of Labor (DOL) has also specifically targeted the home healthcare industry in its “We Can Help” campaign, designed to educate workers about their rights and how to file a complaint with the DOL for wages allegedly owed. In its press release announcing the campaign, the DOL stated that it is placing “a special focus on reaching employees” in home healthcare and other traditionally lower-wage industries. In addition, the DOL has disseminated a number of fact sheets specifically addressed to healthcare workers, which has led inevitably to more investigations and lawsuits.