Court orders state to pay raises to caregivers
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2018 - Posted by Rich Miller
* SEIU Health Care press release…
Late yesterday, tens of thousands of Illinois caregivers for people with disabilities received the good news they’ve waited seven months for: Governor Rauner’s move to withhold a $.48-cent raise that the General Assembly approved in last summer’s budget deal was illegal.
Rauner had refused to release the increase to Personal Assistants, who have not seen a raise since December of 2014 with the overwhelming majority earning only $13 an hour. The $0.48-cent raise was supposed to have gone into effect on August 5, 2017 per state law:
*P.A. 100-0023, Article 30, Section 30-20: “Within 30 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the hourly wage paid to personal assistants and individual maintenance home health workers [in the DHS Home Services Program] shall be increased by $0.48 per hour”
The Cook County Circuit Court’s ruling orders that the State implement the $.48-cent raise for all hours worked since August 5, 2017 by March 21, 2018.
SEIU says this case involves 28,000 caregivers. The annual cost of giving all those caregivers 48-cent an hour raises is about $28 million per 8-hour shift.
The state had asked that the case be dismissed and plaintiffs had asked for a ruling of summary judgment. The plaintiffs prevailed and the state then moved for reconsideration. That motion was denied. The order is here.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:12 pm:
I hope this ruling won’t mean any delay on payments to that IT pinstripe patronage army. They’ve got mouths to feed — their own, at Shaw’s and Gene & Georgettis.
The priorities of this guy….
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:19 pm:
If you work in any way for the state, Rauner is not your friend, and won’t be your friend in the future.
If you understand that, you’re ahead if the game.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:21 pm:
Rauner “Overruled” always makes my day.
He makes 155 million last year, but $0.48 is too much to give caregivers who keep their charges out of much more expensive institutionalized care.
What a guy.
- 360 Degree TurnAround - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:21 pm:
Another loss for Rauner. If he were in a basketball tournament of governors, he’d be in the CBI.
- jimk849 - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:23 pm:
Pay-up Mr. Potter.
- AnonAnon - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:24 pm:
Yet another example of why unions are so important to State employees and positions similar to these caregivers
- HangingOn - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:26 pm:
So glad they get this. Now if only I could get my $0.59 per hour step raise I was supposed to get last year.
- don the legend - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:30 pm:
Ron chimes in about overpaid caregivers in 3…2…1
- City Zen - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:34 pm:
Good thing it wasn’t $0.50.
- Truthteller - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:38 pm:
Rauner’s attempt to have the case dismissed is yet another good reason for the voters to dismiss him in November
- A Jack - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:39 pm:
Plus taxpayers are on the hook for interest on that $28 million back pay. Way to look out for taxpayers, Governor.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:40 pm:
$.48-cent?
“Point forty-eight dollar cent”
- Ron - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:44 pm:
Why do these workers even negotiate with the state? They should be privately employed.
- VanillaMan - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:45 pm:
Rauner has spent an entire term screwing citizens while claiming to protect them at the same time.
His messiah complex makes everyone worth less than a million dollars as ignorant needy minions easily swayed by greed.
- Sue - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:51 pm:
Anon- or alternatively, another reason why Illinois is such a fiscal basket case and is losing citizens faster then any other state in the Union
- Fixer - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:52 pm:
Let’s not forget the other backpay still owes to state employees in certain agencies from the Quinn administration. Odds are the backpay portion of this gets tied up in a similar manner.
- Ron - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:54 pm:
Sue, technically West Virginia is losing people faster than Illinois. But that’s it and that place is really awful.
- Sue - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:55 pm:
Remember this decision on or near June 30 when Janus is decided and none of these so called union members decides to stay dues payers
- Perrid - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 12:58 pm:
Or to put it another way, he fought to keep people making about $27,000 a year from making $28,000 a year because it was too expensive, to save $28 million a year out of $36 billion (I think the budget that got approved had 36 billion in spending), or .08% of the budget (very rough). Or, he fought to keep $28,000,000 from these 28,000 workers, and he himself in 2016 had an income of $91,000,000, so the total raise that the workers are splitting is all of 30.77% of what he himself made in 2016.
TL:DR - The guy’s a bit of a jerk…
- AnonAnon - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:05 pm:
Sue. Home health care providers saving the State millions of dollars by keeping people out of nursing homes etc. Getting a raise of less than 50 cents and hour is causing people to leave Illinois? The fact the raise was negotiated by a union is making people leave the State? The government (Rauner) choosing to illegally withhold the raises and upon losing the court case (as he has others) trying alternate means to withhold the raises (as he has others) is making people leave the State? I would say the third option is probably making more people leave than the fist two.
I probably should not have fed the troll today, but I was feeling generous.
- AnonAnon - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:08 pm:
Yes, all of the union members will flood to work under the merit comp system. Doubtful.
- Cubs in '16 - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:10 pm:
===Plus taxpayers are on the hook for interest on that $28 million back pay.===
Are you sure about this? Unpaid wages aren’t the same as unpaid services and these employees aren’t necessarily entitled to interest like vendors are.
- Barrington - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:17 pm:
Home healthcare workers do a difficult and emotionally draining job. I am happy that they will receive their increase. I think they should receive more than they do and should be thanked everyday.
- Sue - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:18 pm:
My objection is that this is the bargaining unit Blago agreed to upon his election and we know how much SEIU helped Blago. Correct me if I have my facts wrong but isn’t this the same group involved in the Harris case?
- Demoralized - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:24 pm:
Sue:
Perhaps you should just be happy that these grossly underpaid individuals are getting the raise. If anyone deserves it they do. Try focusing on that instead of attacking.
- Barrington - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:30 pm:
Sue, please remember that you may one day be taken care of by one of these union members.
- Nick - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:43 pm:
It’s political stunts like this. (Rauner withholding pay raises)
That’s reminds us state employees everyday why we need the unions.
Without the unions; no state employee will be safe from rauners vindictiveness
Even if Janus wins, the unions will still be strong ( prob stronger)
- Flynn's Mom - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:45 pm:
So, will it be back pay or back to court?
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 1:57 pm:
–They should be privately employed.–
Do you truly think that 28,000 caregivers are state employees?
That privitization of government services movement never reached your home planet? It’s been big here for decades.
- Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 2:18 pm:
==$.48-cent ==
Sorry to digress, but this drives me nuts. The person who wrote the press release and the person who edited it need some help.
It’s either 48-cent OR $.48 You cannot put the two together.
/rant
back to the discussion…
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 2:31 pm:
How much more costly will these raises get when the state has to pay back interest on the raises?
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 3:30 pm:
Hopefully a lot
- Former Hillrod - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 3:38 pm:
I found this to be interesting. It sort of flies in the face of the reality the governor projects about public employees in Illinois.
http://thesoundingline.com/limitations-quantitative-easing/
- RNUG - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 3:44 pm:
== Gene & Georgettis. ==
At least they have good taste. -word-, you just made me hungry; haven’t been there for years.
- A Jack - Wednesday, Mar 14, 18 @ 4:49 pm:
@Cubs I was under paid years ago by the state and did receive interest on the amount. The state also has to pay interest on unpaid travel expense vouchers. There were a lot of those during the budget stalemate. And I suspect the state will pay a lot in interest for all those missed step increases.