A sweeping legal decision on Friday affirmed the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) $7 million win against Prestige Home Care Agency, a company accused of failing to compensate home health aides (HHAs) for travel time between clients’ homes. The ruling could send ripples across the home care industry, clarifying that travel time is integral to the duties of HHAs and must be compensated.
The Heart of the Case: Is Travel Time Part of the Job?
In a unanimous decision, the Third Circuit rejected Prestige’s appeal, which argued that travel time between clients’ homes should not be considered part of the aides’ job duties. Prestige had insisted that commuting time was separate from the core tasks of feeding, bathing, and dressing clients. However, the appellate judges disagreed, reaffirming the lower court’s 2023 ruling.
U.S. Circuit Judge David J. Porter, writing for the panel, stressed that for home health aides, “travel is integral and indispensable to providing in-home healthcare.” He explained that the aides cannot fulfill their caregiving duties without the travel between clients’ homes, making it a critical part of their daily responsibilities.
Prestige’s Argument Rejected: Travel is Essential to the Role
The court was firm in its stance, pointing out that while travel unrelated to the job—like commuting home or shopping—does not need to be compensated, the travel between homes of multiple patients is a central component of the aides’ workday. The ruling made clear that this travel was not a peripheral task but rather integral to the aides’ ability to provide care.
