New York – Upstate Minimum Wage for Home Care Workers to Increase by $1, not $0.70

​News provided by HCAOA Partner Porcanin Law
Earlier this year, HCAOA encouraged members to support a home care agency tax credit to offset the rising minimum wage for home care workers. Thank you to those of you who responded.
 
Home care agencies worked to offset the rising minimum wage costs, but there are concerns that some of the information regarding the raise in minimum wage may have been misinterpreted.

Porcanin Law reports that in August 2022, a New York Department of Health presentation noted the minimum wage rate for upstate home care workers would, “…increase by an additional $.70 (on top of the $2.00 that was going into effect on October 1, 2022), effective as of December 31, 2022. This was the first indication of an upstate minimum wage increase and many providers took note of the $0.70 notation and have been negotiating their rates with plans around a $0.70 increase. 

However, the Department of Labor [clarified] several weeks ago, the $1.00 minimum wage rate increase for upstate employers (in all industries) would be $1.00, and the DOL expects this $1.00 increase to be added onto the home care workers’ then-rate of $15.20. Thus, effective [for] hours worked on December 31, 2022 and until October 1, 2023, the minimum wage for upstate home care workers will be $16.20.”

“The State has published several MW posters which suggest that the DOL considers the new, higher, home care worker wage rates to be the “minimum wage.” This question is relevant to issues such as travel time pay, in-service pay and spread of hours. 

Thus, in accordance with the current interpretation of New York DOL, the minimum wage for all home care intents and purposes would appear to be the new rate (inclusive of the $2.00 increase) and not the Statewide minimum wage rate,” according to Porcanin Law. ​