Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Murray Introduce Legislation to Codify Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections for Home Care Workers

Washington, D.C.-Today, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14)and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, legislation that would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to guarantee minimum wage and overtime protections for over 3 million home care workers.

"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 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. 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," said Senator Patty Murray.

"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-jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

"Home care workers keep our parents and grandparents alive. Yet many are still paid less than the price of a cup of coffee per hour. This workforce is mostly women of color who have been undervalued for generations. Rolling back wage protections is immoral," said SEIU Executive Vice President Leslie Frane.

"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 the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

For decades, federal labor law has included a loophole that excluded most home care workers. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized regulations to finally expand minimum wage and overtime pay for home care workers.

In July 2025, the Trump administration took action to roll back the 2013 rule and strip home care workers' rights to minimum wage and overtime pay. If the Trump administration's proposal is finalized, more than one-quarter of all home care workers in the country will immediately lose their right to federal minimum wage and overtime protections.

The legislation is cosponsored by 58 representatives, including 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), Mark Takano (CA-39), 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 17 original cosponsors in the Senate, including Senators 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), Mazie 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).

The full bill text is available here.

A one-pager of the bill is available here.

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