IHSS providers have been plagued with late timesheets and paychecks for years.
In March, the State Auditor released a report on their audit of the IHSS payroll system, confirming what we already know to be true — the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) could be doing a lot more to help providers avoid paycheck delays.
Some of the audit’s recommendations for CDSS:
- Change the timesheet rules so that a provider’s work week matches their pay period — reducing errors that lead to longer processing times
- Monitor the system more closely to identify problems and correct errors right away
- Develop new procedures so that the counties are consistently and proactively resolving timesheet errors
Next steps: our union, UDW is sponsoring AB 237, a bill that would make key recommendations law.
The state is also putting its new electronic timesheet process into place. The pilot program launches in Riverside County this month, with a statewide rollout in Summer or Fall of 2017.
None of this would have happened without UDW caregivers! We put pressure on the state to develop electronic timesheets and we fought for the audit of the payroll system. Way to go!
In solidarity,
Editha Adams, caregiver and UDW President
Read the full President’s Report at www.udwa.org.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2016
Contacts: Margitte Kristjansson, 619-548-4304 (English) | Melissa Uribe, 213-590-9091 (English / Spanish)
Home care workers testified at Senate Human Services Oversight Hearing in Los Angeles today, in effort to seek changes to the State Payroll Processing System
Los Angeles, CA – In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers and allies from throughout the state testified today at the Senate Human Services Oversight Hearing regarding continued issues with the state payroll and timesheet processing system, which have resulted in late paychecks and delayed timesheets for caregivers.
With the state’s population rapidly aging, the demand for home care providers continues to grow. According to the California Public Policy Institute, California’s senior population – those 65 and older – will nearly double in the next 15 years. Yet despite the importance and need for this work, the over 460,000 home care workers who provide services through California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) are all too often paid late or incorrectly.
“This year, I was evicted from my home along with my grandson, because of late IHSS timesheets and paychecks,” said Cynthia Wilson, IHSS provider and UDW member from Madera County. “Things worked out this time, but I worry about the next time this happens. Many IHSS caregivers like me are just one late paycheck away from homelessness.”
“For the last two months, I’ve basically been working for free. My rent is a month past due and I can barely afford to make my car payment” said Magdalena Alvarado, IHSS provider and SEIU Local 2015 member from Los Angeles County. “For the last two months, I’ve simply been asked to wait while my situation is sorted out. Well, while I wait my care recipient still needs to be taken to her doctor appointments, fed, and bathed.”
“The payroll system for IHSS providers is rife with problems and unacceptable in its current state,” said UDW’s Legislative Director, Kristina Bas Hamilton. “Today we proposed a number of recommendations – some are sweeping in scope while others are simpler, common sense “fixes” – that we believe will go a long way to make the system more efficient.”
Some of the proposed fixes include a switch to biweekly pay periods (instead of semimonthly) to make it easier for workers to comply with new overtime rules, as well as allowing workers to download their timesheets to reduce the time they have to wait to receive them via mail.
View member testimonies here.
Follow the conversation: @SEIU2015 @UDWA #PayUsOnTime
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About UDW; United Domestic Workers of America (UDW)/AFSCME Local 3930 is a home care union made up of nearly 94,000 in-home caregivers across the state of California. UDW caregivers provide care through the state’s In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS), which allows over half a million California seniors and people with disabilities to stay safe and healthy at home.
About SEIU Local 2015: With representational responsibility for over 325,000 home care and nursing home workers, SEIU Local 2015 is the biggest long term care union in California. It is our mission to unleash the collective power of long term care workers, their families, and their communities, harness the power of technology, and build a broad movement to disrupt the unjust status quo in order to bring lasting transformational change towards a more just society for all.
The state recently announced its plan to offer an option for providers to submit timesheets electronically instead of using the current paper system. Electronic timesheets could help alleviate the stress, headaches, and hardships that come when IHSS providers are forced to wait for late paychecks. A new system could ensure we are paid correctly and on time.
In this proposal, providers would be able to access and submit timesheets using a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
The state plans to first conduct a pilot to test the new electronic system in one or two counties beginning in May 2017. If this pilot is successful, the goal would be to roll out the electronic option to all IHSS caregivers by July 1, 2017.
UDW is working closely with the state as they develop this new process. We want to ensure that electronic timesheets are an improvement over paper timesheets. The best way to do so is to work with caregivers, so UDW will host a small focus group of IHSS providers in early December to test the new technology and give the state feedback.
We will keep you posted on any new developments or changes here at www.udwa.org and on Facebook – www.facebook.com/UDW.
