What's happening
This bill limits home care aides to 12-hour shifts or 50 hours per week, with exceptions only for emergencies and voluntary overtime.
Why it matters
Protects home care aides from being forced into excessive or unsafe work hours. , which can reduce burnout, improve job satisfaction, and potentially enhance the quality of care for vulnerable clients.
Ensures that any overtime beyond the new limits must be truly voluntary and not coerced. , with requirements for explicit employee consent and strong protections against retaliation or discrimination for refusal.
Defines and tightly restricts what counts as an “unforeseeable emergent circumstance”. (e.g., a sudden emergency, not just general staffing shortages), thereby closing common loopholes that employers might use to force overtime.
Empowers home care aides with legal recourse and strong enforcement mechanisms. , including the right to sue for damages and attorney’s fees, and enables the state labor department to impose penalties on employers who violate these protections.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Make Overtime Optional for Aides
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to labor
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Make Overtime Voluntary for Aides
In Assembly Committee · Labor · Sponsor Harvey Epstein
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
6640
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
July 31, 2019
Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to maximum hours for home care aides
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The labor law is amended by adding a new section 167-a to read as follows:
§ 167-a. Hours of labor for home care aides. 1. For purposes of this section: (a) "Home care aide" means a home health aide, personal care aide, personal care attendant, consumer directed personal assistant, home attendant or other licensed or unlicensed person whose primary responsibility includes the provision of in-home assistance with activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living or health-related tasks, or the provision of companionship or fellowship. The provisions of this section shall apply equally to services provided by home care aides who work on episodes of care as direct employees of the care recipient, certified home health agencies, long term home health care programs, or managed care plans, or as employees of licensed home care services agencies, limited licensed home care services agencies, or under any other arrangement.
(b) "Unforeseeable emergent circumstance" means an unpredictable or unavoidable occurrence that requires immediate action.
(c) "Maximum home care hours" shall mean a single shift that consists of twelve hours per day or multiple shifts that in combination total fifty hours per week.
2. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no employer shall assign a home care aide to more than the maximum home care hours except as provided for in subdivision four of this section.
(b) Any requirement of a home care aide to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours contained in any contract, agree-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13045-03-9
S. 6640 2
ment or understanding executed or renewed after the effective date of this section shall be void.
3. The agreement of any home care aide to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours shall be voluntary. Consent to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours must be expressly provided by the employee. Consent to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours on a specific occasion shall not constitute implied consent to accept such assignment in the future. The refusal of a home care aide to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, threats, or any other penalty or employment decision adverse to the employee.
4. (a) The provisions set forth in subdivision two of this section shall not apply in case of an unforeseeable emergent circumstance when assignment for more than the maximum home care hours is determined necessary, provided that the employer has exhausted all reasonable efforts to obtain proper staffing. However, such assignment shall not exceed four hours over a twelve-hour shift or a fifty-hour cumulative workweek that the home care aide has already performed, and shall be subject to the requirement of consent pursuant to subdivision three of this section.
(b) Where an unforeseeable emergent circumstance is due to the delayed arrival of a home care aide who is relieving a home care aide who has worked the maximum number of hours for such day pursuant to subdivision two of this section, such assignment shall not exceed two hours without acceptance of such overtime pursuant to the provisions of subdivision three of this section.
(c) Except as provided for in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a staffing shortage may not constitute an unforeseeable circumstance.
5. An employer shall not threaten, discharge or in any other manner discriminate, penalize or take adverse action against a home health care because they have made any complaint that the employee has been required to accept an assignment for more than the maximum home care hours in violation of the provisions of this section:
(a) to their employer, including the employer's representative or agent;
(b) to the commissioner or the department; or
(c) to any other city, state or federal agency.
6. (a) A home care aide may bring a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction against any employer or his or her agent, or the officer or agent of any corporation, partnership, or limited liability company, or any other person who violates subdivision two, three, four, or five this section. An employer or other person who violates such subdivisions shall be liable for all legal and/or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of this section, including but not limited to compensatory damages for loss of consortium, liquidated damages, punitive damages, and reinstatement and back wages, in addition to injunctive relief and any other appropriate relief. An employer or other person who is found to have violated subdivision two, three, four or five of this section shall also be liable for the payment of reasonable attorney's fees.
(b) On behalf of any home care aide, the commissioner may bring any legal action necessary, including administrative action and civil action, to bring a claim for a violation of subdivisions two, three, four, or five of this section. Further, if the commissioner determines that an employer or employer's agent or the officer or agent of any
S. 6640 3
corporation, partnership, or limited liability company, or any other person has violated subdivision two, three, four or five of this section the commissioner may issue sanctions and penalties, including, but not limited to compensatory damages for loss of consortium, liquidated damages, and punitive damages, and may also order reinstatement, back wages, injunctive relief, and all other appropriate relief.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to maximum hours for home care aides
Purpose or general idea of bill
To protect home health aides from being required to work unreasonable work schedules in any day or week and ensure they are not pressured by employers with disciplinary action. The bill also provides for legal relief if an employer requires a health aide to work more than 12 hours per day or 50 hours in a week or threatens them with disciplinary action.
Summary of provisions
This bill defines home care aide as a home health aide, personal care aide, personal care attendant, home attendant or other licensed or unli- censed person whose primary responsibility includes the provision of in-home assistance with activities of daily living. It also requires that any overtime be voluntary and if the aide does not accept it, he or she cannot be penalized. Further, it does not mean that he or she will not accept or reject overtime in the future. There are two exceptions: if a health care worker wants to stay at a care recipients apartment because the replacement care worker is delayed, the current health care worker can opt to stay for a maximum of 2 hours. Finally, the bill allows the aide to bring a civil action against his or her employer for violating their freedom to refuse overtime and a range of damages.
Read the full memo (718 words)
Difference between original and amended version (if applicable)
-Adds definition for "Maximum home care hours" -Adds "consumer directed personal assistant" to the definition of "home care aide" -Makes explicit that a home care aide's acceptance of an assignment for more than maximum home care hours must be voluntary -Makes explicit that a staffing shortage may not constitute an "unfore- seeable circumstance" -Creates limits to the number of hours over the maximum home care hours that can be worked by a home care aide in unforeseeable emergent circum- stances
Justification
Home care workers in New York are essential to maintaining the daily wellbeing and long-term care of older adults and people living with chronic health conditions or disabilities. Home care workers and personal care aides are among the fastest growing occupations in the state. New York State employs more than 210,000 home care workers and they rank as NYC's single largest occupational group. The demand for home care workers will only accelerate with a growing aging population.
It has become increasingly apparent that many home care workers are required by employers to work mandatory 24-hour shifts to care for people who have been approved for around-the-clock care. Home care work- ers report that they are often required to work 24-hour shifts consec- utively in a week. The growth in mandatory 24-hour shifts can endanger the health and safety of both home care workers andcarp recipients. Studies have shown that prolonged periods of wakefulness-(17 hours with- out sleep) can significantly impair hand-eye coordination, decision-mak- ing skills and memory. Workers' sleep is shorter, lighter, more frag- mented and less restorative than normal sleep at night. Twenty-four hour shifts are equally detrimental to care recipients. When home care work- ers are too fatigued or become chronically ill from lack of proper rest and sleep, care recipients - those approved for 24-hour care and among the neediest of clients - are less likely to receive proper treatment and safe care. They face a higher risk of injury when workers are mentally or physically fatigued to safely move them or assist with medi- cally-related tasks. Further, burn-out, occupational related illnesses and high turnover among workers lowers the quality and continuity of care received by care recipients.
The labor of home care workers contributes to the well-being and long term care of New York's aging community and people living with chronic health needs or disabilities. Home care workers are also an important component of the state's economic growth. It is thus declared to be the public policy of this State to protect home care workers from 24-hour shifts in order to safeguard the health, safety and general well-being of home care workers and their families, as well as care recipients, consumers and the public.
Prior legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
To be determined
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.