Home care workers who care for the elderly and the disabled will now be protected by minimum wage and overtime laws.

The Obama administration extended the protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act to nearly 2 million home care workers. The regulation will not go into effect until January 2015 to give families and state Medicare programs time to prepare for the new rule.

According to the administration, almost 40 percent of aides receive government benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid. Ninety-two percent of home care workers are female, almost 30 percent are black and 12 percent are Hispanic.

Business groups and Congressional Republicans contend that the regulation will reduce hours for home care aides, increase Medicaid and Medicare spending and raise costs for families using home care services.

In the 15 states that now provide overtime and minimum wage protection to home care aides, there has been no evidence of job loss, or negative impact for the workers or the people using the services.

The New York Times, Sept. 17