Nursing homes in Florida are meeting and often exceeding a new requirement to pay their staff at least $15 an hour, but some critics are raising concerns about lower wages being paid to contract workers.
The Florida Legislature last year passed a $293 million Medicaid increase for nursing homes, with the intent to drive higher payments to frontline workers and help address widespread labor shortages.
On Monday, the Tampa Bay Times reported claims by the state’s largest healthcare worker union that at least 40 facilities statewide have not been paying the mandated minimum wage to subcontracted staff.
But a spokeswoman for the Florida Health Care Association told McKnight’s Long-Term Care News that nursing homes were in fact following the letter and spirit of the law, with salaries of employees receiving under $15 an hour specifically exempt by the wage law because they are not directly employed by nursing homes.
“In terms of our certified nursing assistants, just talking to many of our members anecdotally, I don’t know many of them that were paying less than $15, even before the requirement,” said FHCA’s Kristen Knapp. “To be competitive, they needed to pay a higher wage.”
Among contracted CNAs today, Knapp says hourly rates of $18 to $20 are commonly dictated by market demand and ultimately set by staffing agencies. The same, she said, goes for housekeeping and dietary staff hired by service companies who contract with nursing homes.
“We’re in a workforce crisis. We have...
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