Long Island Care at Home Vs, Evelyn Coke
How will it affect Home Health Care?
Facts of the Case
Long Island Care at Home (Long Island) employed Evelyn Coke as a “home healthcare attendant†for the elderly. Coke sued her employer, claiming rights to overtime and minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The District Court ruled for Long Island, holding that Coke fell under the FLSA’s exemption for employees engaged in “companionship services.†The court gave deference to the Department of Labor’s regulation 29 CFR Section 552.109(a), which applies the exemption to employees in “companionship services†who are “employed by an employer or agency other than the family or household using their services.â€
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed. It ruled that the regulation was a misinterpretation of the statute, and was therefore unenforceable. The Second Circuit declined to give the Department’s regulation any of the judicial deference normally due to administrative regulations. No Chevron deference (â€strong deferenceâ€) was due, because the regulation was under a section titled “Interpretations.†Regulations that are interpretive rather than legislative are not entitled to Chevron deference. The Court of Appeals also ruled that the regulation was “unpersuasive in the context of the entire statutory and regulatory scheme,†and thus not entitled to Skidmore deference (â€weak deferenceâ€) either.
Question I; Is it better for home health care workers to get overtime pay or will it actually hurt the aides as they will be taken off of the case once they hit 40 hours and therefore actually earn less money?
Question II; Is it harmful to home health care to have to pay the caregivers overtime or will it hurt people who need the care and are already having a hard time affording it?