State budget threatens to leave home care workers far behind

I have heard from many constituents over the years that it is very difficult to find the home care workers they need to help an older or disabled family member. That’s why I have been a champion of the Fair Pay for Home Care bill since it was first introduced.

This legislation could impact, in a very positive way, thousands upon thousands of people — both home care workers as well as the people they take care of.

New York’s home care worker shortage is the worst in the nation, and it’s almost entirely due to low pay. Until last year, home care workers got minimum wage ($15 an hour in New York City, and less in other parts of the state), hardly enough to support one adult, let alone the children so many home care workers are raising. The Fair Pay for Home Care Act calls for these essential workers to make 150 percent of minimum wage — enough to allow many more of them to stay on the job.

Last year, we in the legislature pushed hard for this bill. Gov. Kathy Hochul wasn’t willing to sign on, but she did agree to a $3 hourly raise. That’s a far cry from what’s needed, but it was an important step in the right direction.

When she announced the increase last year, the governor said: “New York depends on a strong, stable and equitable health care system, and at the very foundation are the industry’s workers, who’ve been asked to do the impossible and are continuing to do so two years after the start of the pandemic.”

Unfortunately, this year it’s possible that this important progress may be undone in the state budget. The proposed budget would freeze home care wages until the minimum wage catches up to them.

That’s exactly the opposite of what we should be doing.

Home care workers do so many things to help their clients — activities of daily living. These functions are the most basic things, such as taking a shower, getting dressed, eating and drinking, going to the toilet, getting in or out of bed. They also provide skilled health care, including medication management, respiratory care, wound care, compassionate care for those individuals with Alzheimer’s, and working with their families.

Despite the crucial function they play in the lives of their clients, thousands of New Yorkers have to do without this help for hours or even days because there aren’t enough home care workers to provide it.

Home care workers are not only extremely important to the individuals they care for, but also for their families. By helping their clients’ families — largely daughters and daughters-in-law — they allow them to keep their jobs and income.

At the same time, low wages force many home care workers to struggle to take care of their own families. It also widens the racial and gender income gap. New York’s home care work is done overwhelmingly by women (91 percent) and people of color (77 percent). The majority of home care workers (60 percent) are immigrants. 

The budget is late this year, largely due to non-budget issues which could and should be settled outside of the budget process. I hope we finalize the state budget ASAP, and I am working for a budget that will improve the lives of New Yorkers.

The one-house budget resolution passed by the Assembly in late March calls for holding the line for now, keeping home care wages $3 above minimum wage. That is the minimum that must be done, but we should do more.

I hope the governor, the state Senate and the Assembly all agree to Fair Pay for Home Care. It’s the right thing to do.

Given the facts that home care workers perform a very crucial function in our society — and that their work requires many skills — it is most definitely not a minimum wage job.

It is high time that we give these essential workers the respect — and the pay — they deserve.

The author is an Assemblyman who represents the greater Riverdale area