In an order dated October 20, 2015, pursuant to the D.C. Circuit's mandate issued on October 13, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon entered summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in Home Care Association of America v. Weil. In this case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the DOL's Home Care Rule, which, among other things, prevents third-party employers of home care "companions" or live-in caregivers for the elderly and disabled from availing themselves of the longstanding statutory exemptions from the federal Fair Labor Standards Act's minimum wage and/or overtime requirements.
While the DOL has indicated it will delay enforcement of the Home Care Rule until November 12, 2015, and will exercise "prosecutorial discretion" until the end of the year, this reprieve offers no relief from the Plaintiffs' Bar, which will rely on the date of Judge Leon's order—or perhaps the October 13 issuance of the mandate—as the effective date of the Home Care Rule.
The plaintiffs await a decision from the United States Supreme Court on whether it will review the D.C. Circuit's decision.
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