1999-2008: UDW caregivers win our collective bargaining rights and transform our union to one for caregivers by caregivers. We also win direct deposit for our IHSS paychecks!

2009: UDW stops Governor Schwarzeneggar’s attempt to decrease the state’s contribution to our wages and benefits and put unfair limits on who can receive car

2010: Together we stop Governor Schwarzeneggar from eliminating IHSS entirely.

2011: 

• We also win legislation that both ends timesheet fingerprint requirements, and requires counties to give us our background check results and appeals information.
• We successfully urge lawmakers to protect IHSS by finding new funding when Governor Brown tries to end certain vital services and cut recipient hours by 12%

2012:  UDW and home care advocates file lawsuits to stop Governor Brown’s proposed 20% cut to IHSS.

2013: 

• We settle three lawsuits – putting an end to massive IHSS cuts proposed by both governors in 2009 and 2012. The settlement includes a one-year 8% cut, and an ongoing 7% cut.
• The U.S. Department of Labor updates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to extend overtime pay to home care workers after decades of exclusion.

2014: We block Governor Brown’s attempt to limit provides to 40 hours per week and avoid paying us overtime. 

2015: 

• UDW caregivers successfully end the 7% cut to our client’s hours for one year.
• After months of intense pressure by UDW caregivers, the state announces that overtime, travel time, and medical wait time pay will begin February 2016.
• UDW wins legislation requiring training for law enforcement on how to better interact with people with mental illness, intellectual disabilities, and substance abuse disorders – keeping people with disabilities safer in our communities.

 

2016:

• Once again, we stop the 7% cut – this time through 2019
• UDW caregivers fight alongside other low-wage workers for a law that increases California’s minimum wage to $15 by 2022, and gives providers paid sick leave for the first time ever.
• We take action to fix the broken IHSS payroll system. We win a state-level audit of the problems causing paycheck and timesheet delays, and pressure the state to implement optional electronic timesheets starting in 2017

 

A new president means a new administration and new policies. And new policies or changes to existing ones can have effects on the IHSS program. While we don’t know what will happen yet, there are some things IHSS providers and recipients should be aware of as we continue our work to protect and strengthen California’s home care program.

• Congress and the President-elect could change Medicaid from an entitlement program to a block grant program. This means, instead of states being required to cover every person who meets eligibility criteria and provide at least a minimum standard of benefits, Medicaid funds would be given to each state as a lump sum and each state would decide how they want to spend it. There is a high risk that this would result in reduced federal money for a state because block grants do not take into account Medicaid caseload growth or inflation.

What could that mean for IHSS? Benefits and eligibility for Medicaid-funded programs like IHSS here in California could be cut if federal funding is reduced. Remember, 55 percent of funding for the IHSS program comes from Medicaid, so changes to Medicaid funding will be felt by providers and our clients.

• The President-elect pledged to do away with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) aka “Obamacare”, and Republican leaders in Congress have long called for its repeal.

What could that mean for IHSS? Right now, many UDW caregivers and our families are among the estimated 20 million people who get their health insurance through the ACA. Many of us receive subsidies through Covered California, or receive Medi-Cal through the ACA’s expanded eligibility. In addition, California participates in the Community First Choice Option (CFCO), a program available through the ACA that provides increased funding to states who promote home and community based services like IHSS.  Changing or repealing the ACA could mean reduced funding for IHSS and leave many of us without health coverage.

• The President-elect could reverse the recent change to the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that gives home care providers overtime and other benefits that we fought hard to secure.

What could that mean for IHSS? If this happens, federal funding for overtime pay goes away. This likely means the State will stop paying IHSS providers overtime pay, as our law states that it’s only required if authorized by federal law.

• Congress and the President-elect could reduce funding for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) as part of broader changes to federal entitlement programs.

What could that mean for IHSS? The majority of our IHSS clients depend on SSI as their only or primary source of income. If SSI is cut, our clients’ quality of life could suffer.

Because IHSS is funded by the state and federal government, its future is tied directly to what happens in Sacramento and Washington D.C. That’s why we must be stronger together – to fight to protect our clients and loved ones in the face of these potential threats to our program.

UDW will keep you posted on how the recent election can and will affect providers, clients, and our families. Want to get involved in our efforts? Call your local UDW office today.

My name is Aurora Viramontes Rivera, and I work as a home care provider for two of my children in Orange County, California. I am overjoyed and grateful that home care workers are now eligible for overtime pay. For my family, the added income has drastically improved our quality of life.

I’ve always been appreciative that the In-Home Supportive Services program (IHSS) gives me the opportunity to provide my children with the best care possible. I’m not just their mother. I’m the caregiving professional who knows their conditions and their needs best.

Unfortunately, while I love my work, it hasn’t always been easy. Both Atzel and Alix live with disabilities, but when Atzel was initially given fewer hours of in-home care a month than his condition requires, it impacted our entire family. Thankfully my union, the United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930 (UDW), was able to help us secure 200 additional hours of care for Atzel by helping me successfully appeal the original assessment.

The extra home care hours ensure that no matter who his caregiver is, Atzel will always have the amount of care he needs. Since I am Atzel’s current caregiver, it also translates into real dollars for our family.
The changes for our family didn’t stop at extra hours. When I found out home care providers were finally going to be paid fairly for all the hours we work, I couldn’t believe it. As a professional caregiver, I know how tough our work is, but to know that our elected leaders were finally acknowledging that was great. Overtime pay for home care providers means that caregivers are receiving basic rights that most Americans probably take for granted.

My family sure hasn’t taken it for granted. I have far fewer sleepless nights. The extra money overtime provided allowed my husband and I to move our family of six out of our tiny apartment and into a roomier three-bedroom house. My kids are happier, and I have more peace of mind as I watch them play in our backyard. We also bought a more reliable car, which we use to transport our children to their doctors’ appointments.

Overtime pay means I can actually save money, and my family’s goal is to save enough to purchase our own home. For me, overtime pay isn’t about giving home care providers extra, it’s about giving us the pay we’ve worked for, that we need and our families deserve.

My name is Toni Monique Taloa, and I’m a home care provider in Buena Park, California. I initially became a professional home care worker to take care of my elderly grandmother. My grandmother was originally assessed just 80 hours of in-home care each month – far less than she needed – by California’s In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) home care program. My union, the United Domestic Workers/AFSCME Local 3930 (UDW), helped me successfully appeal the decision, and my grandmother’s home care hours were increased from 80 to 283 per month.

As a person who honestly did not believe in the power of being a union member, this help was just what was needed to change my mind. After that I wanted to know what else the collective power of home care workers could accomplish, so I became a UDW volunteer. As a more involved member, I would eventually become one of the many home care providers in California who fought for fair implementation of our overtime benefits.

My grandmother has since passed away, but I’ve been responsible for my sister Tonya’s care since 2012. When Tonya was born, she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, also known as water on the brain, which caused cerebral palsy. When I learned my sister had been moved into a nursing home, I took her out and moved her into my home. I knew my sister would get the best possible care among family with me working as her caregiver.

Unfortunately, despite the vital, cost saving nature of our profession, working as a home care provider has been rough on my budget. There have been many times when I wasn’t really living, I was just surviving. And it’s not just me who is affected: my sister Tonya depends on me to provide for her needs as well, including food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and medication.

That’s why I got involved with my fellow UDW home care workers in our fight to win overtime pay. I knew we were excluded, but I never knew why. I was excited when in 2011, President Obama announced in-home caregivers would soon receive basic labor protections like overtime. And I joined my fellow caregivers in celebration when the U.S. Department of Labor amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to include home care workers after decades of unfair exclusion.

After the announcement at the federal level, we fought hard, wading through challenges in the courts and from our own governor. When overtime was finally implemented here in California for IHSS home care providers, it changed not only my life, but Tonya’s as well.

Now that I have overtime pay, I’ve been able to comfortably provide Tonya with the food her condition requires her to have. I’m able to pay our rent, and no longer live with the fear that we could be evicted from our home, forcing me into a shelter and Tonya back into a nursing home. Overall, overtime pay was crucial to ensuring Tonya and I are able to remain in our home. And the extra money overtime provides gave me something I think is priceless: time. Tonya has a second home care provider who comes in 20 hours per month to give me a break – something we would not have been able to afford in the past.

It’s Labor Day weekend. For many Americans that means a three-day weekend to eat barbecue and enjoy the last days of summer with loved ones, but Labor Day represents a lot more. As we go All In for Care at the bargaining table to win better pay and benefits for caregivers, we should keep in mind the history of the holiday.

Labor Day was created by union members in the late 1800s to recognize the contributions workers have made to building our country, and making it prosperous. Home care workers and other domestic workers have cared for our nation’s seniors and people with disabilities for decades, even centuries. Our work keeps this country moving forward by ensuring that those who need it have access to the quality care they deserve. The care we provide allows people to age with dignity, and allows individuals with disabilities to receive care at home rather than institutions.

It’s important to recognize the achievements and value of workers, but to also remember that some workers, including home care providers remain undervalued and underappreciated. Labor Day became a national holiday in 1896, but IHSS providers still work without paid holidays. And until last year, we’d endured decades of exclusion from the Fair Labor Standards Act, which gave most workers overtime pay benefits almost 80 years ago.

UDW caregiver William Reed from Placer County provides care for his adult son who lives with autism. William recently spoke out about the need to treat IHSS providers with the same respect as other workers. “Our work is real work,” he said. “It’s time to make a change, and start treating the work of all home care providers with dignity and respect.”

It’s true, and UDW caregivers have had to fight for many of the same basic rights most workers enjoy automatically. Whether it’s securing overtime, stopping cuts to the IHSS program, or helping raise the state’s minimum wage; we have proved that when we fight together, we can win!

Marcus Haynes is an IHSS provider in Riverside County. He provides care for his uncle who lives with schizophrenia. Marcus is also a member of the bargaining team that includes other UDW members from Riverside, as well as San Diego and Orange counties. Providers in those counties are currently in contract negotiations with the state in an effort to win better pay and benefits for IHSS providers in all three counties. “Some of us do the same work as nurses, but we don’t make a living wage,” said Marcus. “Bargaining together gives us all a voice in the process to improve our wages.”

Marcus and the bargaining team are fighting for an immediate raise, improved health care, paid sick leave, and vacation time. However, the state continues to devalue our work. The state’s contract proposal includes keeping providers at minimum wage with no raise, and no improvements to our benefits.

We will continue to fight, because we are All In for Care! Whether you are bargaining with the state, or

your county’s public authority, we must all continue to unite together to win more for our families. Darlene Nelson who works as an IHSS provider for her two adult daughters recently spoke out about not settling for low wages and poor benefits at a rally in San Diego. “Our work and our clients’ care is worth far more than the minimum,” she said. “I’m all in for care!”

This Labor Day weekend and beyond, if you are All In for Care, call 1-866-584-5792, and tell your lawmaker to support pay and benefit increases for IHSS providers.

After decades of exclusion from Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) protections, home care providers won overtime pay for the first time in history last year. And on February 1^st, FLSA benefits began for eligible IHSS providers. Now, many of us are eligible to receive overtime, travel time, and medical wait time pay – great benefits for caregivers and our families. UDW caregivers fought hard to secure these new benefits, and now we’re working to make sure they are implemented fairly.

Throughout the year, UDW members have lobbied and testified to lawmakers at the Capitol about the new program rules, and urged them to ensure they are helpful rather than harmful to providers and our clients. “We fought long and hard for overtime,” UDW member Nelson Retuya from Placer County told lawmakers. “Let’s make sure it works for home care workers and recipients.”

Our goal this year is to urge lawmakers to employ several changes to the new IHSS program rules. The changes will ensure that caregivers are treated fairly, and our home care clients receive care without harmful interruptions.

We’ve asked the legislature to adopt four actions in the Governor’s 2016-17 budget for IHSS:

1. Extend the grace period for program violations to September 1^st.

IHSS program violations are consequences for submitting your IHSS timesheet with hours that exceed overtime or travel time limits. The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) originally announced violations would begin on May 1^st. Providers who receive multiple violations risk being terminated from working for the IHSS program. UDW has asked lawmakers to extend the start date to September 1^st to give the state time to thoroughly implement all necessary policy changes, and to give providers and clients time to fully understand the new rules, so we can avoid receiving violations.

2. Ensure eligible IHSS providers and recipients have access to overtime rule exemptions.

CDSS should notify eligible IHSS providers about exemptions for which we qualify, and create an appeals process for providers who believe they were incorrectly denied an exemption. Exemptions are important because they ensure that high-need clients or clients with special circumstances can continue to receive all the hours of care they rely on from their home care providers. Read more about exemptions here: http://www.udwa.org/2016/04/exemptions-to-timesheet-weekly-work-limits.

3. Ensure providers do not receive inaccurate violations.

Right now, counties have a five-day review process before they issue an IHSS provider a violation. Counties should have no less than 10 days to review potential violations in order to cut down on the number of providers who receive invalid violations. Remember, violations include penalties that increase in severity all the way up to a one-year termination from the program. This means it is imperative that providers do not receive violations for no reason.

4. Create an easy to understand workweek limit.

Right now, workweek limits are determined by the number of IHSS clients a provider has, which means providers have different caps on our workweek hours. In order to reduce confusion, UDW caregivers have asked for a 70 hour and 45 minute workweek limit for all providers (with the exception of providers who have received an exemption allowing them to work up to 90 hours per week).

UDW will keep members updated on our work to improve the implementation of our new benefits as the state budget process continues.

Remember, we can familiarize ourselves with the current overtime, travel time, and medical wait time rules by visiting www.udwa.org/timesheets.

For the last two years, UDW has been urging the state to develop a special exemptions process to ensure that overtime is a great benefit for all IHSS providers and our clients.

We are excited to announce the Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption, designed to help eligible IHSS providers who do not qualify for the Categorical Exemption. This exemption is for providers with two or more clients who need more than 66 hours per week of care combined. Providers who qualify will be allowed to work up to 12 hours per day, up to 360 hours per month combined for all of their IHSS clients.

You may qualify for the Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption if:

• You have two or more IHSS clients; AND
• At least ONE of the following situations applies to you:

1. Your IHSS clients are in an “extraordinary circumstance,” which means they have exhausted all options and remain unable to find another provider to work the additional IHSS hours you’re prevented from working due to the 66 hour workweek limit AND they have complex medical and/or behavioral needs that put them at risk of being forced to leave in-home care for an institution; OR
2. You care for clients who live in a rural or remote area where there is no other available provider; OR
3. Your clients lives in an area where there is no other provider who speaks the same language.

IMPORTANT: If #2 and/or #3 apply, you do not have to be a live-in provider to qualify for the exemption. You do not have to be related to your clients to be eligible for this exemption.

If you meet the above qualifications, you may request the Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption by speaking with the county social worker and requesting an “exemption from workweek limits for individuals with extraordinary circumstances.” It is important that you describe how your clients’ situations meets the above criteria.

Once you call and start the process, the county has 15 business days to submit the request to the State Department of Social Services for review.  The State then has 15 business days to review and determine approval or denial. During this 30 business day process, you will have a grace period where you are not subject to violations. Be sure to speak with the social worker directly and confirm the start of the grace period to avoid any confusion – a voicemail will not start the process.

If you do not hear from the county social worker within five business days of submitting your request, or if you have been denied the Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption and your client will lose services as a result of the workweek limits, contact UDW at 1-800-621-5016 for assistance.

The Extraordinary Circumstances Exemption is one of three exemptions that we have pushed the state to create in order to ensure overtime is a benefit to all IHSS providers and clients. Follow these links to learn more about the Categorical Exemption and the Waiver Personal Care Services Exemption.

In addition to overtime and travel time pay, IHSS providers who qualify will receive pay for medical wait time starting on February 1, 2016. Medical wait time is the time spent waiting for your client during authorized medical accompaniment. There are certain criteria that must be met for this time to be considered “Wait time – On duty” (click here to read ACL 16-01, starting on pg. 14).

IHSS clients who already have medical accompaniment hours should be assessed for medical wait time by their county social worker. If your client has not been notified about their medical wait time hours, contact the social worker directly to request an assessment.

Wait time, once authorized, will be paid retroactive to February 1, 2016.

Note: it is the obligation of the social worker to contact your client’s physicians get the necessary information for this assessment, NOT you or your client. Contact your local UDW office if you are experiencing trouble with this process.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has made changes to IHSS program rules related to the 2016 implementation of overtime, travel time, and medical wait time. Some of these rules affect the way we complete our IHSS timesheets. We advise all providers to be aware of the following dates and required forms.

MARCH 15, 2016

CDSS mailed several informational notices and forms to IHSS providers and recipients. March 15, 2016, is the date by which your client must review, complete, and postmark IHSS form SOC 2256 – the In-Home Supportive Services Program Recipient and Provider Workweek Agreement. Note: this is only for clients who have more than IHSS provider.

APRIL 15, 2016

The updated In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program Provider Enrollment Agreement (SOC 846) now includes information on overtime and travel time. All providers must review, sign, and return the SOC 846 to your local county office. SOC 846 can be found here.

While the State recently announced that providers who do not return the form by April 15th will no longer be terminated from the IHSS program, it is still a required form so please turn it in as soon as possible.

In addition to SOC 846, the following form must be completed and returned if it applies to you:

• In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) Program Provider Workweek & Travel Time Agreement (SOC 2255) – If you have more than one IHSS client, you must review, complete, and return this form to your local county office by April 15th. Providers who qualify for travel time will not receive a travel time claim form until this form is returned.

MAY 1, 2016

Beginning May 1st, IHSS providers who complete their timesheets incorrectly will receive violations. After two warning violations, providers who receive a third violation will be suspended for three months, and providers who receive a fourth violation will be terminated from the program for one year.

Violations will be harmful to providers and our clients. Because of this, all providers are encouraged to avoid them by learning the new program rules. You can do this by:

• Attending a timesheet training. Contact your local UDW office to learn more;
• Visiting udwa.org/timesheets for information on how you, your clients, and your timesheets will be affected by the IHSS program changes;
• Liking UDW on Facebook to see our IHSS Tips of the Day;
• And calling the UDW Member Benefits Center at 1-800-621-5016 with IHSS program and timesheet questions.

By Kevin Brown, AFSCME, February 5, 2016

After years of advocating to improve the standard of care for California home care clients, In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) providers began to receive overtime pay and pay for travel time and medical accompaniment time from the State of California – for the first time ever.

Until this week, caregivers did not receive basic labor protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act to ensure quality care for the state’s 400,000 IHSS clients. Now, thanks to the advocacy of AFSCME and its allies, home care providers will be fully paid for their work. The new rules went into effect Feb. 1.

“This is a historic win. After years of hard work, home care providers will finally gain the respect and equal treatment they deserve,” said Doug Moore, executive director of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, the Homecare Providers Union  and an AFSCME International vice president. “This victory shows us what we can accomplish when we work together!”

But it didn’t come without a fight. An anti-worker group attempted to stop the new rules in court, and state lawmakers proposed a 40-hour cap that would disrupt continuity of care for many IHSS clients and dramatically reduce work hours for a fifth of the IHSS workforce. UDW/AFSCME members spent countless hours rallying, lobbying, knocking on doors, writing letters and making phone calls to stop anti-worker proposals and finally win the same labor protections other workers enjoy.

Their work gained IHSS providers $850 million in state and federal dollars to fund overtime, travel time and medical accompaniment time, which not only helps workers pay for housing, groceries, utilities and other improvements, but also ensures quality care for nearly half a million seniors and people with disabilities across California.

“I work overtime every week, providing care for my uncle,” explained Roy Pridemore, a home care worker in Orange County. “We live paycheck-to-paycheck, and sometimes I have to take payday loans just to keep up with the bills. Winning overtime pay is a huge stress reliever, and I’m so proud that caregivers and our union had a hand in making this happen.”

At the same time, UDW and allies continue to advocate to ensure home care clients will not see hours of care reduced due to the new regulations, and have already secured several exemptions to hourly workweek limits to meet the needs of clients and family caregivers.

As caregivers, we work hard for our clients, and count on our pay to help us provide for our families. When our IHSS paychecks are late or our timesheets are delayed, we struggle to make ends meet.

In August, UDW and other homecare unions began asking IHSS providers to complete a survey to share our most pressing concerns with the IHSS timesheet and payroll system. Within three months, thousands of providers from across the state responded, and the results were clear:

• Over 50% of participants are dissatisfied with the timesheet process
• About 75% had their paychecks delayed at least once in the previous three months.
• Nearly 30% of participants experienced paycheck delays three times or more in the three previous months.
• And most of the surveyed providers would trust and prefer to access their paystub and submit their timesheets online.

UDW is listening!

As a union, we are taking steps to ensure that our IHSS payroll system works for all homecare providers. We’ve submitted the survey results to a select group of lawmakers, and we’re talking to state officials and other stakeholders about ways to streamline the timesheet and payroll process, making it work for all providers.

Stay updated on our efforts to improve the IHSS payroll system by visiting www.udwa.org.

For Immediate Release
Monday, February 1, 2016

After decades of exclusion and years of advocacy, IHSS homecare workers in California now eligible for overtime pay

Sacramento – Today is a monumental day for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) homecare workers throughout California. For the first time in history, caregivers for hundreds of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities statewide will be eligible to receive overtime pay. IHSS workers will also be paid for time spent traveling between homecare clients and for time spent accompanying their clients to medical appointments – work time that was previously uncompensated.

“This day has been a long time coming,” said UDW Executive Director Doug Moore. “It is a victory for the homecare providers who advocated and worked tirelessly to ensure that their profession receives the same labor protections as virtually every other worker in the country. This historic accomplishment is a testament to the power of worker solidarity and member advocacy.”

Until recently, homecare workers across the country were excluded from basic labor protections, such as minimum wage and overtime pay, established by the Fair Labor Standards Act nearly 80 years ago. After the U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule in 2013 that extended these protections to homecare workers, UDW members campaigned tirelessly to pass Senate Bill 855 in 2014, which implements these changes in the IHSS program.

After overcoming over two years of challenges and delays at both the state and federal level, IHSS workers were victorious last November when the state finally announced it would begin paying overtime on February 1, 2016.

Payment for overtime, travel time, and medical accompaniment will benefit hundreds of thousands of workers and their families in communities across California. The nearly $850 million that will be used to fund these benefits in the next fiscal year will help homecare workers pay for housing, groceries, utilities, and other improvements to their families’ lives.

“This will help my family a lot,” said Adami Lopez of Orange County, a homecare worker who cares for her son Adesis who has autism. “My son needs to see a specialist that our insurance doesn’t cover and we couldn’t afford. Now he’ll be able to see him. Overtime pay will help my son get the services he needs and deserves.”

UDW will continue to do everything possible to ensure that services for clients of the IHSS program remain untouched by any of these new changes.

###

United Domestic Workers of America (UDW)/AFSCME Local 3930 is a homecare union made up of over 89,000 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.

Beginning February 1, 2016, IHSS providers who travel between more than one client in the same day will be eligible to be paid for the time spent traveling between the two clients, up to seven hours per workweek.

Travel time does not include the time it takes a provider to travel from his or her own home to the location where he or she provides services for a recipient or back home after the work is completed. The provider will get paid for actual travel time regardless of the method of travel used (driving a car, taking public transit, walking, riding a bicycle). The cost of the travel (gas, bus fare, etc.) is not paid.

Providers are responsible for keeping track of their travel time each week and reporting it on the travel claim form. The maximum amount of time a provider can be paid for travel is 7 hours per week. Reporting more than 7 hours a week in travel time will result in a program violation. Travel time does NOT count towards a provider’s maximum weekly hours.

If you have more than one IHSS client, you must review, complete, and return the SOC 2255 form to your local county office by April 15th. Providers who qualify for travel time will not receive a travel time claim form until this form is returned.

UDW continues to urge the state to bring peace of mind to the small number of IHSS providers who would be negatively impacted by the new overtime pay rules and workweek limits. Recently, we announced the categorical exemption, which allows eligible parent and grandparent providers of IHSS to work up to 90 hours per week and still receive overtime pay.

Today, we are happy to share the WPCS exemption policy from the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). This policy will impact IHSS providers who also provide Waiver Personal Care Services (WPCS).

DHCS may allow you to work up to 12 hours per day or 360 hours per month and receive overtime pay if:

1. You are a care provider who lives in the same home as the waiver participant – not necessarily a family member; or
2. You are a care provider who is currently giving care to a waiver participant, and have given the participant care for two or more years without a break; or
3. DHCS agrees there are no other possible care providers near the waiver participant’s home, and the waiver participant has worked closely with DHCS care managers to try to find more caregivers

Keep in mind:

• Only one of the eligibility requirements must apply to you for you to be eligible for this exemption.
• If the WPCS participant for whom you provide care needs a caregiver for more than the maximum 12 hours a day or 360 hours a month, they may need to hire an additional caregiver. If you and the WPCS participant believe hiring an additional caregiver is impossible, please contact the participant’s DHCS care manager to discuss your particular situation.
• Importantly, if you provide care for a client through both IHSS and WPCS, and you receive the WPCS exemption, you will automatically be exempt from the workweek limit in IHSS.

Waiver participants who qualify for the WPCS overtime exemption should be contacted by their DHCS care manager to further discuss it. However, if the participant does not hear from their DHCS care manager, they should contact them directly. WPCS providers and participants will receive a letter from DHCS with more information on the overtime exemption.

UDW will continue to pressure the state to develop an individual exemption policy for IHSS providers who do not meet this or the categorical exemption criteria, but would benefit from an overtime exemption. We will update you as soon as more information becomes available.

It is important that all IHSS providers understand the new overtime, travel time, and medical accompaniment rules and how they affect both providers and recipients. Training on these new rules will help you avoid penalties, so be on the lookout for training information from your local UDW office, your local Public Authority, and the state.

Check out these Frequently Asked Questions for WPCS Providers and WPCS Clients.

 

Overtime for IHSS providers was a hard fought, much deserved victory for us all. Finally, after decades of exclusion from this basic labor protection, homecare providers, like most other workers, will be paid time and a half for overtime hours starting February 1, 2016.

UDW has been working hard to make sure overtime is a benefit that will help improve the lives of all IHSS providers and their families. The new overtime workweek limits have been a concern for a relatively small number of family providers who work very high hours every week. Some of these providers are parents who care for more than one child receiving IHSS, or grandparents who care for multiple grandchildren receiving IHSS. The standard 66 hour workweek limit would create a hardship for these families and prevent these caregivers from giving their loved ones all of the quality care they need.

We pressured the state very hard to come up with a solution to this problem, and we’re happy to announce the categorical exemption.

Now, if you:

• Provide IHSS services to two or more recipients,
• Live in the same home as the IHSS recipients for whom you provide services,
• AND are the parent, stepparent, adoptive parent, grandparent, or legal guardian of the IHSS recipients for whom you provide services

you may opt for the categorical exemption, which will allow you to work up to 90 hours per week and receive overtime pay. You will not be subject to the 66 hour a week cap on hours. Providers who qualify and choose the categorical exemption will be able to work a maximum of 360 hours per month. If you qualify, but your IHSS recipients’ hours exceed 90 a week or 360 per month, you will need to hire an additional IHSS provider to work the remaining hours.

If you qualify for the categorical exemption, you will be mailed a letter and a form to complete and return to CDSS no later than April 1, 2016.

Here are a few things to remember:

• The categorical exemption applies only to the parent or grandparent providers listed above, which means providers who are the spouse, child, sibling, or another type of family relationship, do not qualify.
• Keep in mind, if one of your two or more IHSS recipients is a person that is not your child or grandchild, you do not qualify. For example, if you live with and provide care for your son and your spouse, you do not qualify for the categorical exemption.
• You must fit into all of the above categories to qualify.

UDW understands that a similar exemption would be beneficial to some of our other family providers who don’t meet this criteria, which is why we are pushing the state to develop a second, individual exemption. We will update you as soon as more information becomes available.

All providers should be on the lookout for important information from your local UDW office, your local Public Authority, and the state regarding upcoming IHSS trainings. It is critical that we all understand the IHSS program rule changes regarding overtime, travel time, and medical accompaniment. A good understanding of these rules will help us avoid stiff penalties.

Please contact our UDW Member Benefits Center at 1-800-621-5016 for more information.

January 1, 2015

By Doug Moore, UDW Executive Director

We’re at the start of a new and exciting year for UDW. All that we accomplished together in 2015 has put us in a great position to win even more for homecare providers and our clients and loved ones in the New Year. But before we move forward, let’s reflect on where we’ve been.

2015 began with the disappointing announcement that Governor Brown chose to go back on his promise to pay IHSS providers overtime, travel time, and medical wait time.

“I don’t think it’s right,” said Riverside County IHSS provider Jose Diaz when the decision was announced. “We aren’t trying to get rich. We just want to be paid so we can support our families.”

In the face of this devastating news, we fought back. At our Justice for Homecare Tribunal in March, we put the state on trial for its unfair treatment of IHSS providers and our clients. “We need to invest in this program, so it’s available when we need it,” said IHSS recipient Chantal Morris during her tribunal testimony. “And we need to invest in our workers, so they are there to do the job when we need them most.”

Also in March, we held our 15^th Constitutional Convention, where it was announced that after over a year of hard work on the part of our member organizers, UDW was 30,00 members stronger. At convention we also welcomed our sisters and brothers of CUHW, and in 2015 we grew from a union of 67,000 homecare providers to nearly 90,000. We were joined by homecare providers from across the world, and passed important resolutions pledging our support to Black Lives Matter and other community-based efforts.

In April and November, UDW caregivers joined the Fight for $15 alongside fast food workers, adjunct professors, and other low wage workers. We committed ourselves to winning justice for all working families, because all workers deserve a living wage and the ability to provide for our families. We solidified this commitment further when we began working to uplift the work of family child care providers, who like homecare providers are undervalued for the work they do to support working families, and many of California’s children.

We worked hard, fought hard, and won big victories!

This summer we defeated the harmful, recession-era 7% cut to our clients’ hours. We converged on the Capitol to demand full restoration of IHSS clients’ hours, and we were heard! In June, Governor Brown signed the current budget, which ended the 7% cut for one year.

In November, after months of demanding #Overtime4Caregivers, the state announced it would finally pay IHSS providers overtime pay for the first time in history. Overtime and other labor protections for homecare workers begins on February 1, 2016, and eligible providers will also receive pay for same-day travel between IHSS clients and medical accompaniment time. “This is a historic victory that is well deserved,” said San Luis Obispo District Chair and IHSS provider Allene Villa. “It shows that leaders know providers mean something and we matter.”

Throughout the year we continued our efforts to win better wages and benefits for homecare workers at the county level, and caregivers in San Diego, Riverside, and Orange counties move forward with state-level bargaining for the first time ever. “I’m here not just for myself but for all homecare workers,” said UDW caregiver Marcus Haynes of Riverside County. “Our team is very strong, and we will win. I don’t want people to starve while they are doing great work, God’s work.”

2016: The Year of the Homecare Worker

One thing people don’t seem to understand about homecare workers is this: we never quit. We don’t quit on our clients and loved ones, we don’t quit on each other, and we won’t quit fighting to protect the homecare program in California.

We deserve dignity and respect, and this year we’re going to demand it! We’re going to work together to end the 7% cut to our clients’ hours for good, and by any means necessary—because dignity can’t wait. We will continue our fight to win retroactive overtime pay for IHSS providers. We’ll work on improvements to the IHSS timesheet process. And together, we will use our strength as a union to help elect the next leaders of our state and country.

I look forward to working with you in the coming months and years. We won’t stop until we win justice.