Led by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the bill would guarantee federal minimum wage and overtime protections for millions of home care workers.
Mar 12 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 12, 2026
CONTACT: Daniela Perez, [email protected]
Led by Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the bill would guarantee federal minimum wage and overtime protections for millions of home care workers.
WASHINGTON – Today, the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) celebrates the introduction of the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, led by Sen. Patty Murray (WA) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14). The bill is a critical step toward protecting federal minimum wage and overtime rights for home care workers, ensuring their pay and labor rights cannot be weakened or taken away by future policy changes.
The legislation comes at a critical moment. As the Department of Labor moves to roll back a 2013 rule that delivers wage and overtime protections for home care workers, this bill would ensure that this critical workforce’s rights to minimum wage and overtime pay are not left vulnerable to changes in administration. At least a quarter of home care workers live in states with no additional wage protections; if federal action is not taken, they would otherwise be excluded from these basic labor protections.
“We are at a crossroads in this country. Our need for care is growing every single day, yet we continue to treat the home care workforce as disposable. We cannot allow the fundamental right to a minimum wage and overtime to be at the whim and mercy of this administration. Rolling back these protections would hurt an already struggling workforce and the millions of families who rely on their care,” said Ai-jen Poo, NDWA’s President. “The Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act is our chance to finally enshrine these protections in federal law and help ensure that the workers who enable the dignity of our older and disabled loved ones are able to work with dignity too.”
There are nearly 3 million home care workers in the United States providing critical services to nearly 10 million older adults and people with disabilities. Yet despite the essential nature of their work, home care workers are too often paid poverty wages and subjected to labor violations. The Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act is a long-overdue response to that injustice and an important step toward building a care system that values both workers and families.
