Governor Bruce Rauner’s new rules restricting overtime pay for home health aides cleared the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules on Tuesday. Starting Aug. 1, caretakers will be limited to a 45 hour work week.
KL Cleeton runs a video production company from his parents’ home in Effingham. His parents work for him, but not to grab coffee at his film shoots.
“Because my disability is so severe, I require 24-hour assistance. If I have an itch, I can’t scratch it. So this is very much my choice,” he said.
Cleeton prefers to have his parents care for him instead of hiring a home health aide; he says his muscular condition is like being quadriplegic.
If people require more care, they’ll have to find an additional worker.
A news release touted the administration’s “cost saving efforts.” But Fred Flather, chief of staff for the Illinois Department of Human Services, says money is not the driving factor.
“The main thrust of this rule is to enhance customer security and safety by making sure they have enough providers, and that they’re providers are going to be fresh,” he says. “And the side benefit is yeah it’s going to save a little bit of money.”
Some clients of the program expressed their dismay Tuesday at a hearing in Springfield. Many have family members paid to care for them, and say they don’t want to be forced to rely on strangers.?
