To: The California State House, The California State Senate, and Governor Gavin Newsom
Protect care and caregivers
Gov. Brown: Do right by caregivers and care recipients by rescinding your proposal to cut hours for tens of thousands of workers. Capping hours of in-home caregivers will jeopardize care while pushing countless caregivers further below the federal poverty line.
Why is this important?
Capping hours of in-home caregivers as California Gov. Jerry Brown proposes will jeopardize care while pushing countless caregivers further below the federal poverty line.
Last fall, President Obama's Department of Labor extended the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to include In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) caregivers in California, 90 percent of whom are women and 70 percent of whom are women of color. Among California’s poorest workers, they have struggled without overtime and FLSA protections to raise families and make ends meet on poverty wages and meager benefits, all while putting their heart and soul into caring for our loved ones.
This year, Gov. Brown proposed a state budget that caps IHSS caregivers’ hours in order to deny them overtime pay and FLSA protections. Across the state, 60,000 caregivers are currently paid for 160 or more hours of service a month. The governor’s proposed cap would cause those caregivers to lose as much as 43% of their incomes—earnings often used to feed, clothe and help house the very IHSS consumers they serve.
If the legislature votes to approve this proposal, seniors and people with disabilities who require care beyond 40 hours a week will be forced to rely on temporary or alternative caregivers with less experience and a lack of familiarity with their unique needs. Especially concerning are the impacts this proposal would have on children and adults with autism, and elderly patients with dementia, for whom consistency is an essential part of care.
Capping hours for IHSS providers impacts both the livelihood of caregivers and the continuity of care IHSS consumers deserve. Passing this proposal would be a glaring example of how, even in a state known for its progressive history, seniors, disabled persons, women, people of color, and the working poor, are still denied a fair shake today.
California can do better! Please add your name to the petition calling on Governor Brown and California's legislature to do right by caregivers, and care recipients by rescinding his proposal to cut hours for tens of thousands of workers.