Home Health Care Aides and Wage Parity

In accordance with Section 3614-c of the New York State Public Health Law, or the Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law, home care aides who perform Medicaid-reimbursed work within New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester may be paid both a base wage and a supplemental benefit to satisfy a minimum rate of total compensation.

The required benefit portion of total compensation for home care aides is currently at a set value of $3.22 per hour in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties, and $4.09 in New York City. The base wage is the current State Minimum Wage for the applicable region.

The wage parity requirement can be satisfied entirely through a payment of wages or through a combination of both wages and supplemental benefits. For more information about Total Compensation and Overtime obligations, please visit the NYS Department of Health website.

Effective October 1, 2020, employers of home care aides subject to the Home Care Worker Wage Parity law must provide employees a notice which details the supplemental benefit portion of the minimum rate of home care aide total compensation. The information must specify the hourly rate paid, the type of supplement or type of home care aide benefits, the names and addresses of the benefit providers, and the plan or agreement, if any, that creates the benefit for each type of benefit. The Department of Labor has created a new template for home care aides, LS 62, to assist employers in meeting this notification requirement. (Various languages available in documents section below)

Guidelines and Instructions are also available.

All notices must be provided in English and in any other language identified by particular employees as their primary language, provided the New York State Department of Labor has made available a template in that language.

• Templates for the Notice and Acknowledgement of Pay Rate and Payday (LS 62) are available below.
• Notices must be provided at the time of hire and upon any change to the pay notice information.
• The employer must have each employee sign and date the pay notice, keep the original signed notice for six years and provide a copy to the employee.
• If the Department of Labor does not make a template available in a particular language, employers may provide notice to that employee in English only.

Effective October 1, 2020, employers must include information for each wage parity supplemental benefit provided, and the hourly rate for each, on the employee’s wage statement (pay stub). See the LS 45 and the LS 49 for more information.

For questions about Wage Parity compensation, pay notices, or wage statements, please call 1-888-469-7365. Workers who are not receiving proper wage parity, minimum wage, or overtime compensation may file a complaint using the LS 223. Advocates assisting workers may also file an LS 11.

In accordance with Public Health Law 3614-c, all certified home health agencies, long term home health care programs, and managed care plans who elect to provide home care aide services subject to the Home Care Worker Wage Parity Law through contracts with licensed home care services agencies, fiscal intermediaries, or other third parties must verify in a written certification to the Department of Health that they have received from the licensed home care services agency, fiscal intermediary, or other third party:

• an Annual Compliance Statement of Wage Parity Hours and Expenses (LS 300)
• accompanied by an Independently Audited Financial Statement Verifying Wage Parity Hours and Expenses

The completed forms and all information necessary to verify compliance must be retained by all parties for a period of no less than 10 years and made available upon request. Please review Guidelines (LS302) for more information.

Public Health Law 3614-c requires that certified home health agencies, long-term home health care programs, and managed care plans shall review and assess the Annual Compliance Statement of Wage Parity Hours and Expenses and make a written referral to the Department of Labor for any reasonably suspected failures of licensed home care services agencies, fiscal intermediaries, or third parties to conform to wage parity requirements.

Use the online Wage Parity Non-Compliance Referral Form to report your suspicions.

• Answer each question in Sections 1, 2 and 3 and submit the form.
• A Labor Standards Investigator will contact you for supporting documentation or to obtain more detailed responses to the questions.

If you have questions about this form, or if you need assistance, call 1-888-469-7365.