Home care worker Evelyn Coke is challenging Labor Department regulations that say home care attendants, who number 1.4 million, are not covered by federal minimum-wage and overtime laws. The stakes in her case are considerable, not least because home care attendant is one of the nation?s fastest growing occupations. There are expected to be nearly two million aides by 2014, as the elderly population grows and government pushes for the elderly to be cared for at home rather than in nursing homes, where costs are high. The nation?s largest health care union, the SEIU, is backing Ms. Coke?s effort because a victory for her could mean larger paychecks for hundreds of thousands of home care aides, many of whom live in poverty.
See "Justices to Hear Case on Wages of Home Aides", Steven Greenhouse, The New York Times, March 25, 2007