Care worker registry draws praise, worries
A powerful union is praising a new law creating a home care worker registry, saying it will bring “much-needed oversight” to the industry, but some trade groups claim the measure is a labor-recruiting tool that could put both workers and the agencies that employ them at risk.
The bill Gov. Charlie Baker signed into law yesterday charges the state Department of Elder Affairs with setting up a registry that home care agencies will have to submit workers’ names, genders, addresses, identification numbers, job titles, trainings and certifications.
“This bill is about industry transparency, worker empowerment, about Massachusetts residents being able to know that those providing their home health care are qualified,” Rep. Daniel Cullinane (D-Boston), one of the bill’s sponsors, said in an email. “... This work is too important for it to be a minimum-wage revolving door.”
Tyrek D. Lee Sr., executive vice president of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, called the legislation a “strong” law that will enhance patient care, provide better understanding of workers’ training needs and bring “muchneeded oversight” of the home care industry, which “remains largely unregulated” and recently came under fire after several providers were charged with defrauding MassHealth.
The registry originally was proposed in the 2018 state budget, but Baker vetoed it because of privacy concerns and called on lawmakers to rewrite the legislation. The bill he signed yesterday exempts victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault or stalking.
But Lisa Gurgone, executive director of the Home Care Aide Council, said workers don’t always know they’re going to be victims of those crimes and, when they are, may not feel comfortable telling their employers. Also, many home care workers are immigrants who may be fearful that they or their families will be deported, Gurgone said.
“This is really about collecting their home addresses so unions can organize them,” she said, “but we feel releasing that information puts them at risk.”
Home care agencies themselves have concerns that the law could put them at legal risk for disclosing private information to the state without a worker’s consent, said Jake Krilovich, director of legislative and public affairs at the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts.
But Baker spokesman Brendan Moss said in a statement that the administration “will work diligently with the legislature, home care workers and all stakeholders involved to ensure the registry regulations are implemented responsibly.”