Court throws out bargaining rights for home care workers
HARRISBURG (AP) – A Pennsylvania court is putting an end to a program established by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf that the judges said improperly granted union rights to home care workers who look after elderly and disabled people.
Commonwealth Court ruled 4-to-1 Thursday in favor of plaintiffs who challenged an executive order Wolf issued in February 2015.
The court majority says Wolf’s order is a form of legislation it called an “invalid exercise of executive authority” that “invades the relationship” between direct care workers and the people who employ them in their homes.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs says the ruling is what they hoped for. The plaintiffs include the Pennsylvania Homecare Association and United Cerebral Palsy of Pennsylvania.
Wolf’s office says he’s disappointed and is “considering options for the best path forward.”