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Home care workers lose FLSA case
June 11, 2007 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Home care workers don't get overtime or minimum wage coverage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) due to an old regulation put out by the federal Department of Labor.
Today the US Supreme Court upheld the validity of that regulation. Long Island Care at Home Ltd v. Coke.
The regulation provides an exemption FLSA for workers who are “companionship” workers “employed by an … agency other than the family or household using their services.”
The Court said that the Labor Department's power to administer a congressionally created program necessarily requires the making of rules to fill any “ ‘gap’ ” left, implicitly or explicitly, by Congress. This is the rule established by Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U. S. 837 . When an agency fills such a gap reasonably, and in accordance with other applicable (e.g., procedural) requirements, that result is legally binding.
My view: This case is consistent with the Chevron USA approach. It reinforces the importance of regulations adopted by federal agencies.
The message is that changes have to come from the agencies themselves rather from the courts. And the agencies are in the hands of the executive branch. You know, the President.
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