direct care services;
employment standards
DP |
Committee on Retirement & Government Operations |
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X |
Committee on Commerce & Economic Development |
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Caucus and COW |
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As Passed the House |
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SB 1322 requires state agencies that contract with a private or public entity that provides direct care services to comply with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and to propose fair market wages in rate proposals for staff.
In 1997, the Arizona Department of Health Services’ Office established a 28 member task force to help consolidate five of the existing six licensing classifications which include the following: adult care homes, supported residential living centers, supervisory care homes, unclassified homes and adult family care. The state felt a responsibility to make sure that strong measures are in force to ensure safe and quality services related to health and long-term care. Rapid growth of these types of facilities has outpaced the existing internal regulations developed to guide these enforcement measures. The goal of the task force was to develop regulations that ensure minimum standards for health, safety and welfare.
The FLSA is the most general federal labor law and contains minimum wage provisions, the Equal Pay Act, child labor restrictions and other related laws. FLSA wages are determined by the actual number of hours worked by the employee, and therefore, FLSA does not mandate pay for holidays, sick days, or any other days that an employee has not put in actual hours worked. However, employees must be paid for time spent working before and after their scheduled shifts, if the time spent was suffered or permitted by the employer. FLSA requires that overtime compensation be paid to an employee that has worked over 40 hours in a week and is to be calculated at time and one-half of an employee’s regular rate of pay. If an employee is required to be on call or on standby, the time may be counted as hours worked if it creates a substantial interference with the employee’s ability to use that block of time for personal purposes. Title 29, Chapter 8, §206 establishes a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour to be paid by employers to all employees meeting specified requirements in the US Code. The following groups of employees share exemption from the required minimum wage and overtime provisions:
1. Executive, administrative and professional employees (including teachers and academic administrative personnel in elementary and secondary schools).
2. Casual babysitters and persons employed as companions to the elderly or sick.
3. Tipped employees.
4. Outside sales employees.
5. Certain skilled computer professionals.
6. Student learners and full-time students in retail or service establishments.