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Judge Rules on SEIU Lawsuit...Home Care consumers and workers jubilant over order halting July 1st wage cut

OAKLAND, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Home care consumers and workers reacted jubilantly Thursday evening upon hearing the news that a U.S. District Court judge issued an injunction ordering the state of California to halt a proposed $2 an hour cut in wages for the state's 440,000 home care workers.

The injunction has the effect of stopping pay cuts in all California counties that were planning on passing the state cut through to their home care workers.

The injunction, issued by federal Judge Claudia Wilken, was in response to a lawsuit filed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has 250,000 home care members in California.

"I'm very happy that the Court has ruled in favor of the thousands of elderly and disabled persons who depend on home care workers like myself," said Jimi Williams, a home care worker in Contra Costa County. "Many people have worked hard all their lives, paid taxes, and followed the rules - it's only fair that they get the assistance they need to stay in their homes."

"The Judge's decision is a huge relief for me. My first worker had to leave for a better paying job and my current provider is just getting by," said Catherine Henderson, a home care consumer from Woodland.

"As a consumer I depend on a program that provides decent wages and benefits so I can count on getting the good, quality care that I need."

"I think that it was a fair and positive decision for home care workers and our clients," said Greg Price, a home care worker in Fresno.

 "Hopefully, Fresno County and the state of California will finally recognize just how much damage their cuts to the home care program were going to cause."

The enjoined state budget cuts would have slashed homecare workers' wages to as low as $9.50 an hour.

The wage cuts would have forced thousands of homecare providers to leave their employment to seek living-wage jobs, forcing frail seniors and people with disabilities to enter nursing homes or other residential institutions.

The lawsuit asserted that the wage cut violates the federal Medicaid Law, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Rehabilitation Act.