Consider the Caregivers: Reimagining Labor and Immigration Law to Benefit Home Care Workers and Their Clients
![handle is hein.journals/bclr62 and id is 321 raw text is: CONSIDER THE CAREGIVERS:
REIMAGINING LABOR AND IMMIGRATION
LAW TO BENEFIT HOME CARE WORKERS
AND THEIR CLIENTS
Abstract: A looming shortage of over half a million direct care workers within
the next decade threatens to leave elderly and disabled individuals without much-
needed care. Existing U.S. labor and immigration laws render long-term care
work undesirable and providers prone to exploitation. Despite the extension of
the Fair Labor Standards Act's protections to many home care workers in 2015,
flawed enforcement mechanisms prevent workers from effectuating their new-
found rights. Additionally, restrictive visa programs and crackdowns onundocu-
mented employment limit noncitizens' ability to secure positions in the industry.
As a result, the home care system facilitates the exploitation of home care work-
ers, contributes to high turnover rates, and creates instability for elderly and disa-
bled individuals who rely on caregivers to remain in their communities. This Note
argues that Congress should support strategic labor law enforcement initiatives,
grant amnesty to undocumented workers, and reform the employment-based visa
program to give higher preference to all essential workers. This Note further
demonstrates how these actions will benefit both caregivers and their clients.
INTRODUCTION
Marjorie Salmon, who immigrated to Brooklyn, New York from Jamaica,
has provided home care services to elderly clients for over two decades.' In
exchange for offering around-the-clock care to a man in his seventies who suf-
fers from dementia and Parkinson's disease, she receives $160 per day as well
as food and lodging.2 Her client has good and bad moments-one morning he
threatens to hurt her, and another day he compliments her appearance.' Ms.
Salmon cooks her client's meals, helps him bathe, and cleans up his soiled dia-
pers.4 She keeps the doors locked so that he does not wander away.5
1 Andy Newman, On the Job, 24 Hours a Day, 27 Days a Month, N.Y. TIMES (Sept. 2, 2019),
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/02/nyregion/home-health-aide.html [https://penna.cc/N382-
S6RL].
2 Id.
3 See id. (describing how Marjorie Salmon's client's demeanor shifts due to his struggle with
Alzheimer's disease).
a Id.
5 Id.
315](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bclr62&div=10&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Consider the Caregivers: Reimagining Labor and Immigration Law to Benefit Home Care Workers and Their Clients
Contact us for annual subscription options:
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