Total Health Home Care settles lawsuit for unpaid overtime 

On November 20, 2007, Total Health Home Care Corp., settled a class action lawsuit filed by home caregivers and supported by SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania. Total Health will pay close to $2.2 million divided among almost 3,000 workers.

Initially filed May 18 by four of Total’s home health care workers, the lawsuit alleged the company owed its workers for time spent traveling between clients and for overtime accrued when the travel resulted in more than 40 hours of time being clocked in a week.

While the settlement is a major victory for Total Health workers, oversight of home care agencies in Philadelphia is still largely absent.

Watch this video to learn more about how we can improve home care services in Philadelphia:

The Home Care Accountability Project is a coalition of seniors, caregivers, advocates, religious leaders, elected officials, unions and caring Philadelphians who seek quality care and quality jobs so our elderly and disabled family members can live at home with dignity.

As Pennsylvania transforms its long term care system – from one focused on providing care in nursing homes to one centered on home and community-based services – we have the opportunity to build a home care system that delivers first-rate care through first-rate caregivers.

To do this, we will have to address several major deficiencies in our current system: