Some businesses bemoan change in federal rule that will guarantee minimum wage and overtime for homecare workers.
Christopher Mayer, a law partner with McCarter & English in Newark, said client home-care companies feel that the rule change is a threat to their business.
He has been advising them on ways to document workers’ hours without increasing their pay. Ultimately, the primary costs from complying with the rule-change may be indirect rather than from paying workers more. Some businesses may choose to lower workers’ wages to the minimum if they have to pay for more hours, he added. It remains unclear whether the costs will be passed on to customers or absorbed by the employers.