The 2009 Private Care Association Conference to discuss crucial issues affecting private care registries

Sep 11 2009

During its 2009 Annual Conference in Washington, DC from September 29 through October 1, the Private Care Association (PCA) will address some of the most pressing issues facing private care registries in the country today. The most crucial issues to be discussed during the Conference include:

• Efforts to Repeal Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978. The program will cover PCA's actions in the effort to hold back repeal Section 530. Registrants will become personally involved in the industry's efforts to oppose the legislative attack on the safe harbor provision - Section 530 of the Revenue Act of 1978 ("Section 530") - that creates certainty for qualifying independent-contractor relationships that they will be respected for federal employment-tax purposes. The Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability, and Consistency Act of 2009, H.R. 3408, introduced on July 30, 2009, by House Ways and Means Committee Member Jim McDermott (D-WA), would repeal Section 530.
• Preservation of Companionship Exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"). Presenters will discuss PCA's actions and become involved in the industry's efforts to preserve the companionship exemption under the FLSA, which exempts from the FLSA's overtime and minimum-wage requirements certain home-care workers. PCA is opposing a campaign currently underway to convince the U.S. Department of Labor to eviscerate the companionship exemption through administrative action.
• Opposition to Unionization of Independent Contractor Home-Care Providers. The Conference will include discussions of the industry's evaluation of options for opposing the growing unionization of independent-contractor home-care providers by state governments. Thirteen states have already taken action that permits the unionization of independent contractor home-care or day-care workers within those states. In some states, such as Washington, the unions have expanded their control over home-care workers through caregiver training mandates.

In addition to those topics, the PCA Conference is designed to allow participants to:

• Become informed about how to get engaged at the state level to open or expand Medicaid home-care programs to caregiver registries.
• Obtain an update on the industry's significant legislative efforts and accomplishments at the federal and state level.
• Learn about the important court decisions during the first half of 2009 that affect the operation of caregiver registries and about prudent strategies for reducing the legal risks associated with those operations.

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