Home Health & Hospice Week

It pays to keep pay policies up to date.

With the courts scrutinizing overtime pay, play it smart and stay on top of new legal developments, experts urge.

Risk: Without careful attention to the matter, you could wind up having to pay not only back wages but also significant penalties and attorney's fees.

It's vital that agencies stay focused on developments in Long Island Care at Home et al. v. Coke--the case going before the U.S. Supreme Court--as well as other similar cases in the court system now. Collective actions related to the companionship exemption are in the federal court system now in Florida, Georgia, Virginia and other states. And those cases could prove to be as important to the future of HHAs' use of the exemption as the Coke case, says attorney Stephen Zweig, a partner with Ford & Harrison in New York City.

What's next: The Supreme Court will likely hear oral arguments in the case in mid to late April, reports Mark Kissinger of the Home Care Association of New York State. The association expects a ruling in the case before the court breaks for recess July 4.

Agencies in the states affected by the decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals are still able to use the companionship exemption, notes Kissinger. That's because a stay is still in effect, putting the court's mandate on hold.

Resource: To track developments of the case, go to www.supremecourtus.gov/docket/06-593.htm.