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SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

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The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

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Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Home Care Advocates Claim Win as IL Overtime Restrictions on Hold

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Thursday, August 4, 2016   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. Bruce Rauner reversed course on a no-overtime policy for workers who care for people living with disabilities, and advocates say it's a victory.

The decision from the Illinois Department of Human Services came just hours before SEIU Healthcare Illinois planned to file a class-action lawsuit challenging the overtime limits on the Home Services Program. Disability-rights advocates, including Gary Arnold, public affairs manager with Access Living, said the restrictions could have left about 30,000 Illinois residents at risk of losing their in-home care providers.

"So, even if a personal assistant worked 41 hours, they would be issued one of these warnings,” Arnold said. "We could have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of people get their third strike and get their termination notice."

Earlier this year, the federal government ruled that all workers deserve time-and-a-half pay for working more than 40 hours. According to the Associated Press, the state's Human Services department will seek a new overtime policy through the Illinois Legislature.

The governor's office claimed the state needed to tighten-up overtime pay to save money as Illinois continues to struggle financially. Arnold, however, said that cost-saving measures shouldn't come at the expense of some of Illinois' most-vulnerable residents.

"The answer's not to look to cut corners within in the Home Services Program,” Arnold said, "but to invest in the program rather than institutional services. That's what's going to save money in the long run."

According to the Illinois Department of Human Services, a Kane County judge put the overtime rules on hold in July because the agency had not gone through the proper processes with lawmakers.




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