PRESS RELEASE FOR Thursday, January 18, 2007
CONTACT: Lissette Rivera, (215) 219-5987

Home Caregivers File Suit to Stop Lee’s Industries from Making Them Work without Pay

Improved Pay Could Stabilize and Improve Home Care Workforce

PHILADELPHIA - Home caregivers who work for Lee’s Industries filed suit in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County Wednesday evening, January 17, 2007, asking the judge to stop Lee’s Industries’ practice of not paying for part of their time working.

Lee’s Industries currently does not pay caregivers for their time traveling between clients.  Many of the home care agency’s workers only earn about $7 an hour and get few benefits.  Lee’s Industries also has a record of not paying its workers overtime. As a result, many caregivers are driven from the industry, making it more difficult for seniors and people with disabilities to find stable, reliable care.

“If we all got better pay and benefits, we wouldn’t have to look for a better paying job,” said Pamela Brooks, former Lee’s Industries home care worker.  “Our seniors would get quality care because there would be permanent workers who are already familiar with their specific needs.”

The lawsuit is seeking back pay for workers. It could also mark the beginning of a comprehensive compensation plan that would not only require all home care agencies to pay their workers for travel time and overtime, but also require the agencies to pay thousands of dollars in back wages.

This is the second home care agency in Philadelphia sued for not paying their workers.  Both agencies, Total Health Home Care and Lee’s Industries, hold contracts with the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA), a nonprofit, quasi-government agency that refers seniors to homecare providers. The PCA also oversees the care of all seniors whose services are funded through Pennsylvania’s Options program and its Medicaid Waiver.

In all, the PCA contracts more than 30 home care agencies to provide that care in Philadelphia.

“More than 80,000 Pennsylvanians over the age of 65 reside in nursing homes, putting our state fourth in the nation for nursing home use,” said Kevin Lamb, Chief of Staff to State Rep. Jewell Williams (D-197). “We need to work diligently to find home care solutions today.”

Caregivers, seniors and advocates point to this suit as yet another sign of a broken home care system. A broad-based coalition is working on a new effort to improve home care and seeking ideas to solve problems in the home care system. 

“We need to invest in the creation of a stable, professional workforce of home caregivers by improving wages, benefits, and training and ensure that home care employers treat caregivers fairly,” said Pedro Rodriguez, executive director, Action Alliance for Senior Citizens.

Following the filing of the suit, home caregivers and advocates took the same message to the offices of Lee’s Industries, 5350 Belfield Ave., demanding the company put its patients’ health first by providing quality care and quality jobs. The workers punctuated their demands by wheeling a wagon-full of bounced paychecks, checks that exclude payment for overtime and travel time and other paperwork showing Lee’s Industries lack of appreciation for their patients and workers.