Martindale Center- Policy Briefs on the Future of Work

Essential, Undervalued, and Underpaid: Home Health Care Workers in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic 44 home health care workers, and a 7% raise was incorporated into the state budget for home health care workers. This designation of funds for home health careworkers inVirginia represented a tangible, budgetary response to the outspoken public support for essential workers. Further, the Virginia government acknowledged the prevalence of women of color in the field. Senator Louise Lucas explained, “The majority of home health care workers are women, and women of color, providing critical health services for low pay.” She went on to say that, “This hazard payment acknowledges the essential work that they do and the risks they took especially in the early months of the pandemic….” David Broder, president of Service Employees International Union Virginia 512, also lauded the decision, noting “Home care workers… are instrumental in helping older adults and people with disabilities lead healthy and active lives, safe at home and in the community…” and concluded that, “It’s an important investment that will support families and keep overall costs down for our healthcare system” (De La Rosa). Meanwhile, Home Healthcare Workers of America (HHWA), which represents roughly 10,000 home care workers in New York, is also taking action. In an effort to pass H.R. 6909, The Pandemic Heroes Compensation Act of 2020, the HHWA Na- tional Secretary-Treasurer was one of many to provide testi- mony to the NY House of Representatives Committee (Bag- cal). Under the proposed H.R. 6909, essential workers and their families would be eligible to receive financial compen- sation for harm or death caused by COVID-19. Furthermore, the National DomesticWorkers Alliance, an advocacy organi- zation for domesticworkers in theUnited States, tookmatters into their own hands by establishing the Coronavirus Care Fund in March 2020 to assist domestic workers, including home health care workers who are financially struggling be- cause of the pandemic (National DomesticWorkers Alliance). The fund has supported over 40,000 nannies, house cleaners, and home health care workers. Home health care unions have successfully fought for higher wages and additional benefits. In a survey conducted by the National Employment Law Project (NELP), one home health care worker described a positive experience as part of a union thusly: “Way back when I started, I was getting paid $3.90/h. That was before there was a union. At the time, I knew nothing about unions. I wasn’t a fighter then. When I stopped working, I was making $13.85/h. When we unionized, we fought for paid training, paid time off, benefits, health insurance, and life insurance” (Christman & Connolly). While unions and advocacy organizations are not the only ones responsible for these policies and funds, they are major contributors. However, despite the successes achieved thus far, there remains more work to be done to ensure all home health care workers are paid a living wage. Policy Options The most important, and most immediate, policy response to the problems facing home health care workers would be to raise permanently their pay to a living wage. Amy Glasmeier, a professor of economic geography and regional planning, used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to determine that in 2017 a family of four, with two working adults, would have to make $32.14/h pretaxation to make a living wage (Kessler). That means that, in 2017, for the minimumwage to be a living wage the federal government would have had to raise the minimum wage to $16.04/h. Currently pending in Congress is H.R. 582 Raise the Wage Act, a bill that would raise the hourly federal minimumwage to $8.40/h andwould facilitate an annual increase for six years until it reaches $15/h (H.R. 582). While this is a step in the right direction, this bill has yet to be passed, and the time it would take to reach a fair living wage is far too long. At a minimum, federal, state, and local governments should instead immediately raise theminimum wage to $15/h to better support home health care workers. Raising pay to a permanent living wage would not only show home health care workers the respect they deserve but also reflect the risk and effort their job entails. Raising wages for home health care workers would benefit multiple stakeholders as well as the economy overall. Not only would an increase in wages professionalize home health care services and lead to a more financially stable lifestyle for workers but also agencies would see a decrease in turnover; care recipients would receive more consistent,