Illinois over-time pay policy will hurt in-home care for disabled

In this Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016 photo, Illinois Sen. Iris Martinez, D-Chicago, speaks to reporters during a lawmakers news conference on home care funding, at the Illinois State Capitol Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in Springfield, Ill. State officials say they won’t allow overtime pay for workers who care for disabled people in their homes after March 1. As of Jan. 1, a federal rule requires home care workers get time-and-a-half pay for work over 40 hours in a week. But without a state budget, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration says it can’t afford to pay and will limit workers to 35 hours a week, plus five hours for travel. Seth Perlman AP Photo

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BY ASHLEY LISENBYAssociated Press | January 14, 2016
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. 

Disabled Illinois residents who depend on in-home help for daily needs will suffer once the state stops paying overtime for their caregivers beginning March 1, some home health care workers and their union say.

Tens of thousands of employees who help people with disabilities live independently are eligible for time-and-a-half pay over 40 hours in a week, under a federal rule that took effect Jan. 1. But without a state budget in place to control spending, Gov. Bruce Rauner's administration says it can't afford the extra pay.

A state Department of Human Services memo obtained by The Associated Press indicates the policy will allow 35 hours of work and five hours of travel.

The workers, who make about $13 an hour, and their supporters say that 30,000 clients who need assistance because of physical or developmental disabilities will receive less-efficient and less-effective care because most need more than 40 hours of weekly assistance. Families will have to find other aides to help, meaning disruption and for some clients, discomfort with a new person.

"This is a devastating impact on families," said James Muhammad, spokesman for SEIU Healthcare Illinois, which represents 25,000 home care workers. "Families now have to find other people to come into their homes."

Human Services spokeswoman Marianne Manko said the administration wants to control costs in the absence of a full-year spending plan. The Republican governor and the Democrats who control the Legislature have deadlocked over a budget that should have taken effect July 1. Rauner wants Democrats to bend first on business-friendly changes and measure that would weaken unions; Democrats want a tax increase and spending cuts to deal with a huge budget deficit.

"DHS wants to control overtime costs without interrupting the necessary care people need," said Manko, adding that the agency delayed the no-OT policy until March 1 to give contractors time to prepare.

Manko said she did not know how much overtime would cost if workers continued putting in the hours they do now.

Services range from bathing, dressing and cooking for clients to providing basic companionship, Muhammad said.

Taschika Hatchett of Springfield said the 35-hours-a-week rule will cause disruption.

"The two people that I provide services for have no family around, so they depend on me for their everyday needs, to be safe, clean and comfortable," said Hatchett.

The policy allows overtime work if clients can't be left alone or have a medical emergency, or are facing an extreme condition like a natural disaster, according to the memo.

Democratic lawmakers question the decision, particularly because helping people with disabilities stay in their homes is much less expensive than institutionalizing them.

"I don't understand what his version of compassion means," Sen. Iris Martinez, a Chicago Democrat, said of Rauner. "Our government is there to make sure we can help the vulnerable."

The memo says workers who violate the policy by working overtime will receive written warnings; a third violation means dismissal.

Amber Smock, advocacy director for Access Living, a Chicago organization that provides programs for the disabled, said state officials indicated in December they would review compliance issues on a case-by-case basis.

"They don't want to see anyone dropped from the program because they are not in compliance," Smock said in an email.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/living/health-and-medicine/article54759370.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/living/health-and-medicine/article54759370.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/living/health-and-medicine/article54759370.html#storylink=cpy