As a wheelchair user who’s relied on home care services since breaking his neck playing high school football decades ago, Theo Braddy knows the importance of getting good assistance.
“You’re hearing from someone who knows the difference attendant caregivers and direct care workers bring to the table,” he said. “Unfortunately, Pennsylvania’s home care system is already fragile. We lost a lot of small- and middle-sized providers during the (COVID-19) pandemic, and we have not been able to recover from that.”
As the executive director for the National Council on Independent Living, he helps advocate for others with disabilities, including two phone calls last week from people who couldn’t get out of bed or use the restroom without assistance. Neither could secure home healthcare.
But the industry, already struggling with low wages, is also vulnerable to wage theft. According to state Secretary of Labor and Industry Nancy Walker, nearly 40% of the agency’s Minimum Wage Act complaints come from home care workers.
“Behind every single one of those complaints is someone who showed up to work, who cared for someone else’s parent or spouse or family member or child or loved one, but was not paid,” added Walker.
In response, Walker’s agency is establishing a new initiative to affirm pay across independent home agencies, sending legal demands for wage and hour information to businesses...
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