The Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act would codify rights to minimum wage and overtime pay for home care workers and domestic workers
As Trump and Republicans strip home care workers of their right to minimum wage and overtime pay, Murray and Democrats fight to protect fair wages
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Washington, D.C. – Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced the bicameral Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, alongside Senator Andy Kim (D-NJ), in response to Trump ripping away home care workers’ right to minimum wage and overtime pay. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) introduced companion legislation in the House. The Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act addresses a longstanding injustice in our country—home care workers have been unfairly excluded from the Fair Labor Standards Act. This legislation would codify minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers in federal labor law, and expand overtime protections to domestic workers as well. Senator Murray and Senator Kim were also joined by Miranda Bridges, a caregiver from Moses Lake, Washington, and SEIU 775 member, and Jenn Stowe, Executive Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.
In the U.S., there are more than 3 million home care workers who support almost 10 million people with disabilities and older adults with everyday tasks like eating, dressing, and bathing. In July 2025, the Trump administration took action to roll back a 2013 rule – seeking to strip home care workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay. If the Trump administration’s proposal is finalized, home care workers who reside in states with no additional wage protections will lose their right to minimum wage and overtime protections. If passed, the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act would codify home care workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay in statute and expand overtime protections to domestic workers as well.
“In Washington state and across our country, home care workers ensure that seniors and people with disabilities can live in their homes with dignity and respect. They play a vital role in our communities and too many of them are struggling to make ends meet on the low wages they’re receiving,” said Senator Murray. “Instead of supporting these workers, Donald Trump wants to overturn a rule that ensures that home care workers receive the same basic minimum wage and overtime protections as everyone else. That’s why today we are Introducing the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act. This bill makes sure that home care workers and domestic workers at least have the basic wage protections they deserve and can continue to earn a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. No loopholes, exceptions, or sabotage from a billionaire President without a clue.”
“No one should get less than a fair wage for their work in our country,” said Senator Kim. “As the need for caregivers only grows, we cannot allow the Trump administration to abandon home care and domestic workers to live in poverty. Care workers go above and beyond to look after our loved ones. Congress needs to step up to codify the fair pay they deserve and support their essential service at the heart of addressing our country’s care crisis.”
“Congress has a moral obligation to protect those who care for our most vulnerable communities and home care workers are the backbone of our long-term care system,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. “I am proud to introduce the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act with Senator Patty Murray to finally codify the minimum wage and overtime protections our home care workers deserve and prevent future attacks on their livelihoods.”
In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) created a right to minimum wage and overtime pay for most workers in the U.S., but the FLSA continued to exclude some categories of workers, such as home care workers. In 1974, Congress amended the FLSA to cover home care workers; unfortunately, that amendment included a loophole that was interpreted to allow for the continued exclusion of most home care workers. In 2013, The U.S. Department of Labor finalized regulations, interpreting these amendments and expanding labor protections for most home care workers.
In July 2025, the Trump administration took action to roll back the 2013 rule—seeking to strip home care workers’ rights to minimum wage and overtime pay—and revert to a previous interpretation of the 1974 amendments. If the Trump administration’s proposal is finalized, home care workers who reside in states with no additional wage protections—more than one-quarter of all home care workers in the country—will lose their right to minimum wage and overtime protections.
“Ask any care worker about their hours and compensation, you’ll hear about recurring stories, you’ll hear how our voices go unheard, our needs often go overlooked, especially if we don’t have a union. We work unpaid hours because we refuse to leave our clients, our neighbors, and our loved ones without the dignity of care. We perform essential work that holds the economy together, yet we are often the ones struggling to make ends meet. Care givers deserve respect, and the people we care for deserve respect. The work we do is essential, that’s why we need a strong care workforce, and that’s why SEIU stands in strong support of the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act. This legislation is a vital step towards ensuring home care workers receive fair compensation for every hour worked. We are done waiting for someday—we cannot wait. Congress must act now, it is time to pass the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, and finally invest in and support the people who are at the heart of our health care system,” said Miranda Bridges, a caregiver from Moses Lake, Washington, and SEIU 775 member.
“We are at a crossroads in this country. Our need for care is growing every single day, yet we continue to treat the home care workforce as disposable. We cannot allow the fundamental right to a minimum wage and overtime to be at the whim and mercy of this administration. Rolling back these protections would hurt an already struggling workforce and the millions of families who rely on their care. The Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act is our chance to finally enshrine these protections in federal law and help ensure that the workers who enable the dignity of our older and disabled loved ones are able to work with dignity too,” said Ai-Jenn Poo, President of National Domestic Workers Alliance.
“Home care workers represent a lifeline for millions of families—yet too many are denied even a minimum wage and often go unpaid for hours spent off the clock keeping their clients safe. Poverty wages are driving caregivers out of this lifesaving field, leaving families without support, hospitals and nursing homes overwhelmed, and seniors and people with disabilities at risk of losing the freedom to live with dignity in their own homes. Congress must act now to protect these essential workers and the families who depend on them. On behalf of the thousands of AFSCME members in home care, we thank Senator Murray and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez for introducing this critical legislation, and urge Congress to pass it now,” said Lee Saunders, President of President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
In addition to Senators Murray and Kim, the Senate bill is co-sponsored by: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Maizie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
In addition to Representative Ocasio-Cortez, the House bill is co-sponsored by: Alma Adams (NC-12), Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Nanette Barragán (CA-44), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), André Carson (IN-07), Judy Chu (CA-28), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Daniel Goldman (NY-10), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Julie Johnson (TX-32), Tim Kennedy (NY-26), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), George Latimer (NY-16), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), John Mannion (NY-22), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Jim McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Summer Lee (PA-12), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), and Frederica Wilson (FL-24).
The legislation has been endorsed by: 1199SEIU; A Better Balance; ACLU; ADAPT Montana; ADAPT National; Adhikaar for Human Rights and Social Justice; The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD); American Friends Service Committee; AFSCME; Alliance for Retired Americans; ANCOR; The ARC of Illinois; The ARC of the United States; Autistic People of Color Fund; Autistic Self Advocacy Network; Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network; Blue Future; Business for a Fair Minimum Wage; Care in Action; Caring Across Generations; Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP); Coalition on Human Needs; Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition; Colorado Fiscal Institute; CommunicationFIRST; Community Catalyst; Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care; Democratic Women’s Caucus; Detroit Disability Power; Disciples Center for Public Witness; Diverse Elders Coalition; Economic Policy Institute; Equal Rights Advocates; eQuality HomeCare Co-op; Family Voices National; Family Values @ Work; Family Values @ Work Action; Fe y Justicia Worker Center; Filipino Advocates for Justice; Food Research & Action Center; Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network; Institute for Women’s Policy Research; Justice in Aging; Justice for Migrant Women; Lazos America Unida; LeadingAge; Liberty Resources Inc.; Matahari Women Workers Center; MomsRising; National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd; National Coalition for the Homeless; National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare; National Council of Jewish Women; National Council on Independent Living (NCIL); National Disability Institute; National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA); National Employment Law Project (NELP); National Health Law Program; National Immigration Law Center; National Indian Council on Aging; National Nurses United; National Partnership for Women & Families; National Respite Coalition; National Women’s Law Center; National Women’s Political Caucus; NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice; New Disabled South; New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty; North Carolina Justice Center; Nuevo Sol Day Labor and Domestic Workers; Oxfam America; Paid Leave for All Action; The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies; PEAK Parent Center; People’s Action Institute; PHI; Public Justice Center; SCIboston; SEIU; SEIU 775; Serving At Risk Families Everywhere Inc.; Sur Legal Collaborative; UNITE HERE!; United Church of Christ; United Domestic Workers of America (UDW); Voices for Progress; Women Employed; Women Working Together USA; WorkLife Law.
As the top Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee from 2015-2022 and a champion of workers’ rights, Senator Murray has been a longtime leader pushing to raise the minimum wage, establish a national paid leave program, and expand workers’ rights. Among many other pieces of pro-worker legislation, Murray also leads the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act, to fight wage theft and protect workers’ hard earned wages, and the Paycheck Fairness Act, to combat wage discrimination and help close the gender pay gap. Senator Murray has helped lead the fight for paid family and medical leave since she first joined Congress. Murray continues to push for the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, which would guarantee up to 12 weeks of partial income for workers who have to take leave for serious medical and family events. Murray also helped reintroduce the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to protect workers’ right to join and form a union in order to demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions—legislation she first introduced in the 116th Congress. Senator Murray also leads the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act, comprehensive legislation to prevent workplace harassment, strengthen and expand key protections for workers, and support workers in seeking accountability and justice. Earlier this month, Senator Murray slammed the Trump administration’s moves to roll back worker protections—forcefully calling out the Administration’s extreme anti-worker policies.
A fact sheet on the legislation is available HERE.
Text of the legislation is available HERE.
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