The Department of Labor published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, “Expanding Employment, Training, and Apprenticeship Opportunities for 16 and 17 Year Olds in Health Care Occupations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” If finalized, the rule will remove the operation of power driven patient lifts from the list of activities that DoL prohibits for 16 and 17 year old workers. LeadingAge supports this move; many states permit individuals under the age of 18 to become certified and work as CNAs. Prohibiting them from operating lifts without another individual who is over the age of 18 puts both aides and residents in an unsafe situation. Further, given the serious shortage of people to fill CNA positions, this restriction has made staffing an even greater challenge. Here is the link to the proposed rule.
LeadingAge will be analyzing it and will share more details. In addition, LeadingAge will develop comments. If you would like to help with that or have a real-life story to contribute, please share with Ruth Katz, Senior VP for Policy at RKatz@leadingage.org
