On December 7, 2018, the New York Department of Labor (NYDOL) proposed a new set of “predictable scheduling” regulations in an effort to discourage on-call shifts and require employers to pay employees for cancelled shifts.
As 2018 draws to a close, employers are looking to the next wave of labor and employment laws and regulations that will take effect in 2019 and beyond.
The home health care industry suffered a major setback on September 26, 2018, when a court ruled that the NY Department of Labor's emergency rulemaking amendment to the “13-hour rule” was “null, void and invalid.”
The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) on Friday, July 13, 2018, titled “Determining Whether Nurse or Caregiver Registries Are Employers of the Caregiver.”
On May 18, 2018, the OFCCP issued a directive ending uncertainty as to whether efforts to audit TRICARE participants will resume in 2019 and signaling an encouraging willingness to reconsider the agency’s prior positions on this issue.
On April 2, 2018, Colorado enacted a bill amending its non-compete statute to clarify that physicians may disclose their continuing practice and provide new contact information to any of their patients with “rare disorders.”
The NY Court of Appeals will consider whether home care attendants working 24-hour shifts employed by third-party agencies must be paid for every hour of their shift, with no deductions for meal or sleep periods.
A recent federal court decision has added to the confusion surrounding the application of the U.S. Department of Labor's "home care" overtime rule and New York's "13-hour" rule regarding compensable work hours for certain home care aides.
On October 25, 2017, the NYDOL published a Notice entitled “Home Care Aide Hours Worked” explaining why it considered an emergency regulation necessary for the “preservation of public health, public safety and general welfare.”
