Please send a letter. All you have to do is fill out your information and
the letter is already written for you. This is very important to urge the
Department of Labor to not implement these changes.
Thank you,
Dana
In a message dated 2/21/2012 12:13:29 P.M. Central Standard Time,
[email protected] writes:
BACKGROUND
The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed changes in federal labor rules
that, although well-intentioned, will have a negative impact on people with
disabilities and most seriously impact people who have the most
significant disabilities who rely on Medicaid home and community based
services to be
independent.
Labor advocates have urged people to support these rules which are
intended to assure that attendants get paid minimum wage and are paid
time-and-a-half for overtime work. The disability community recognizes the
invaluable
role that attendants play in supporting the independence of people with
disabilities and has advocated for increased funding for attendant services to
improve wages, however the way DOL is implementing this rule change will
have a serious negative impact on people with disabilities and promote
unwanted institutionalization.
Please TAKE ACTION before the comment deadline of February 27, 2012.
TAKE ACTION
There are several ways to TAKE ACTION on this important issue.
1. Submit comments on the web. ADAPT has worked with the Center for
Disability Rights to set up a system online to make this process easy for you.
Go to: _http://ly.adapt.org/dol_ (http://ly.adapt.org/dol)
When you submit your comments, be sure to edit and personalize the body of
the message. Your comments to the Department of Labor will first be sent
to the Center for Disability Rights who will forward them by the deadline
to DOL.
2. Mail written comments directly to the US Department of Labor. Send
written comments to:
Mary Ziegler, Director
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S–3502/ RIN 1235–AA05
200 Constitution Avenue NW.
Washington, DC 20210
Please TAKE ACTION before the comment deadline of February 27, 2012.
DETAILED POLICY IMPLICATIONS
Most notably, people with disabilities could face unwanted
institutionalization as a result of implementing these proposed rules.
* Increasing the cost of home and community based services by
requiring overtime pay, without increasing the Medicaid rates or raising the
Medicaid caps for available funding, will result in a reduction in hours of
personal assistance, forcing some people with disabilities into unwanted
institutionalization.
* Requiring minimum wage payments for overnight assistance may raise
the cost of serving individuals above established Medicaid caps, resulting
in people with significant disabilities either going without needed
assistance or being forced into unwanted institutionalization.
* The proposed DOL change will limit the availability of family and
friends as paid attendants in consumer directed personal assistance
programs. Reducing the availability of this vital component of the attendant
workforce threatens the independence of Americans with disabilities.
The DOL also significantly mischaracterizes consumer directed services.
DOL describes consumer directed services “as a ‘grey market;’ that contains
an element of ‘over-the-back-fence network of women [who are] usually
untrained, unscreened, and unsupervised, but more affordable without an agency’
s fee, less constrained by regulations and hired through personal
recommendation.’ The term ‘grey market’ is sometimes used to suggest that at
least
some of these private arrangements are designed to avoid applicable labor
laws…”
DOL notes that “There is no consolidated source of data on state
consumer-directed programs” even though there are several resources within the
disability community, and DOL fails to assess the impact that the proposed
changes will have on that system for providing services and supports to people
with disabilities.
It is also likely that the proposed changes will not significantly improve
the lives of attendants. Because Medicaid and Medicare rates are not
being increased to cover the additional cost associated with these changes,
home care agencies will limit the hours attendants can work, forcing
attendants who currently to work for multiple agencies in order to match their
current standard of living.
The necessity to balance efforts to enhance workers’ wages and benefits
with the needs of people with disabilities was identified and addressed in
Guiding Principles which were developed between SEIU and disability
advocates. According to those Guiding Principles, signed on November 16,
2011, “As
a general principle, enhancements to workers’ wages and benefits shall be
paid for through increased funding.” The DOL proposal does not do this.
KEY POINTS FOR MAILED COMMENTS
Although I want attendants to have good wages, I am deeply concerned that
establishing a requirement that attendants be paid overtime in this manner
will negatively impact people with significant disabilities and their
ability to live in the Most Integrated Setting.
* Increasing the cost of home and community based services by
requiring overtime and overtime pay without increasing the Medicaid rates or
raising the Medicaid caps for available funding will result in a reduction in
hours of personal assistance, forcing some people into unwanted
institutionalization.
* Requiring minimum wage payments for overnight assistance may make
raise the cost of those services above established Medicaid caps, resulting
in people going without needed assistance or being forced into unwanted
institutionalization, and the proposed DOL change will limit the
availability of family and friends as paid attendants in consumer directed
personal
assistance programs. Reducing the availability of this vital component of
the attendant workforce threatens the independence of Americans with
disabilities.
* According to DOL’s own analysis, the proposed rules have the
potential to increase the rate of institutionalization of people with
disabilities.
Finally, I am concerned that the proposed changes will not significantly
improve the lives of attendants. Because Medicaid and Medicare rates are
not being increased to cover the additional cost associated with these
changes, home care agencies simply will limit the hours attendants can work,
forcing attendants to work for multiple agencies in order to match their
current standard of living.
I urge the Department of Labor to postpone implementation of these
proposed changes until it has worked with disability and labor advocates to
develop an approach that can enhance workers’ wages and benefits without
eroding
the availability of long term services and supports.
