( CNN ) -- In the last six months , the Obama administration has been pushing for a change in labor regulations that would , for the first time since the 1970s , make home care workers eligible for overtime pay under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act . While the motive behind the proposed changes is noble , the unintended consequences are too great to overlook . We can all agree that providing higher wages to home care workers would reward professional caregivers , attract more qualified people to this growing industry and improve care for the elderly and disabled . These are common goals for both caregivers and families . However , mandating that home care workers be eligible for overtime pay will have the opposite effect . As the head of a home care agency in Massachusetts , I am required by state law to pay overtime to caregivers who are eligible . For those of us who hoped the law would result in caregivers earning more money , it is disappointing . The reality is that many home care workers ' weekly wages would be higher if overtime pay were not required . Why ? The answer is simple : The law does not -- and can not -- require families or home care agencies to employ the same caregiver once that person reaches the overtime threshold . When a caregiver has put in 40 hours during the week , employers usually switch to other workers who have not yet reached that limit , even if the first worker is available and wants to earn more money . Imagine you are hiring , either directly or through a home care agency , someone to help keep a parent safe and comfortable at home . Your parent does n't need medical services but requires assistance with bathing , dressing , walking , meal preparation and related activities . This `` long term custodial care '' is not covered by Medicare , so you have to pay out of pocket . While the costs can add up , it 's less expensive than an assisted living facility . Let 's say you need more than 40 hours of custodial home care every week . If your caregiver wants the extra income , you can arrange for him or her to work more than 40 hours at the wage you have agreed to . But what happens if the hourly rate for the caregiver goes up by 50 % ? If you were paying $ 20/hr through a home care agency , the cost would now come to about $ 28/hr -- a huge increase . Do you keep the same caregiver coming and pay $ 28/hr , or do you hire another one to finish out the week at $ 20/hour ? If , like most families , you are on a budget that stretches every dollar , you would tell the first caregiver to stop work ( and stop earning money ) at 40 hours of service . You would then hire a second caregiver to finish the week . Opinion : Home care workers deserve protections . The fact is that many seniors in our country are living on limited budgets . Any increase in home care wage for caregivers means more money flowing out of the Social Security check or retirement savings of seniors . Most families have little incentive to pay the higher rates associated with overtime work . For a professional caregiver who wants to work more than 40 hours a week at the regular rate ( and many do ) , that option evaporates when overtime pay is required . Someone who used to work 50 hours now can only work up to 40 hours . In states that require overtime pay , families often choose to not assign overtime hours to their caregivers . Home care workers do not wind up with overtime assignments and higher earnings ; instead , they receive less work and make less money . Seniors who receive care have less access to the caregiver of their choice due to budgetary concerns . This is surely not an outcome sought by those who advocate revising the rules of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act . Choosing to expand a law whose effect clearly reduces the earnings of lower-earning workers is bad politics and bad policy . Paying home care workers more money would have clear social benefits , but if it comes at the cost of pricing vulnerable seniors out of the home care market or reducing the earning potential of caregivers , then we need to rethink our laws . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Jim Reynolds .
Obama ##care is revising labor rules to mandate overtime pay for health care workers . Jim Reynolds : Motive behind policy is noble , but it will have opposite effect . Caregivers ' weekly wages would be higher if overtime pay were not required , he says . Reynolds : Many seniors live on limited budgets and do n't want to pay higher wages for overtime .