The people who care for America’s elderly face numerous challenges daily, and getting paid for the labor they’ve performed shouldn’t be one of them. However, according to recent research, some senior care facilities in this country perpetrate a high level of wage theft.
What’s even more alarming is that many of these workers report enduring abuse on the job as well. This report should trouble everyone, most of all those with loved ones residing in such institutions. When staff members experience abuse on the clock, it impacts their performance at every level. Fortunately, lawmakers are taking on care-home operators over these injustices, and hopefully, circumstances will improve.
An Epidemic of Staff Member Abuse in Senior Care Homes
Many employees who work in the senior care industry do so out of a genuine desire to help others. While registered nurses can earn upwards of $30 per hour, many aides make well less than $15, which is less than is necessary to keep pace with the cost of living in many areas. However, many workers responded that the satisfaction they receive in performing acts of kindness compensates for the lower rate of pay.
That doesn’t mean they should have to go without a full paycheck, however. When you struggle to survive, things that many consider minor inconveniences become substantial headaches. Car trouble doesn’t mean a pricey repair — it means walking to work in the elements for months while you squirrel away money to fix it.
No employee deserves to feel unsafe on the job, but care home workers do risk injury when they deal with some patients. Workers report experiencing various injuries on the job, such as being bitten by patients with dementia. Any good care home should employ the appropriate advisory parties — such as security guards, benefits consultants and a good legal team — to ensure there is adequate oversight available and that they can properly address adverse situations. However, many homes cut corners and don’t take this extra step to ensure the safety and fair treatment of their staff.
How Lawmakers Are Addressing This Issue
After a report broke regarding the extent of care home abuse, news outlet Reveal sent a letter to Cheryl Stanton, administrator of the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, demanding an accounting of the steps the agency takes for the protection of workers. They discovered that many care workers are poor immigrants working around the clock for wages as low as $2 per hour. More troubling, some staff reported miscarriages from overwork. Prosecutors charged one care home operator with the rape of a staff member, and he currently awaits trial.
Despite such egregious violations, many of these homes continued receiving Medicaid payments even after their prosecutors brought their operators up on fraud charges. The situation has garnered the attention of presidential hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren as well as Sherrod Brown. They insisted investors provide answers about potential violations of federal or state law in their facilities. However, it’s unclear what policymakers are proposing at the national level to halt the abuse.
At the state level, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced a new initiative in August intended to hold operators responsible for worker and elder abuse. The penalties for violations include the revocation of their operating license as well as related fines.
Still, it remains questionable if such measures are sufficient to compensate workers for their injuries, both physical and economic. Many of the most vulnerable will never receive fair repayment for what they endured. Given the shortage of senior care workers in America, these reports of abuse could dissuade others from entering the profession when we need them the most.
A Shortage of Senior Care Workers
America’s shortage of senior care workers places a considerable burden on those who remain in the field. Fully 75% of Americans over the age of 65 live with multiple health conditions, and their numbers continue to grow. The nation sorely needs workers to keep up with demand.
Shortages can mean staff members routinely undertake unsafe behaviors, like attempting to lift heavy equipment without adequate assistance. This strain results in an epidemic of lower back injuries among these professionals. Overscheduling can lead to burnout and even mental disorders like anxiety in some cases.
America needs to do more to attract more people to the senior care field. As a community, we need to collectively hold nefarious institutions responsible for their misdeeds and insist that all workers enjoy a safe environment.
Preventing Abuse and Wage Theft in Senior Care
Hopefully, more states will follow California’s lead and enact stricter restrictions on senior care facilities. No worker should have to worry about victimization or wage theft — especially those who care for society’s most vulnerable.
Kate is a health and political journalist. You can subscribe to her blog, So Well, So Woman, to read more of her work and receive a free subscriber gift! https://sowellsowoman.com/about/subscribe/