The following information is provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

This is to make you aware of a final rule, published by the Department of Labor (DOL) entitled, “Application of the Fair Labor Standards to Domestic Service” (78 Fed. Reg. 60454, effective January 1, 2015). This rule may impact many in-home programs that are part of state Medicaid programs and DOL and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) want to ensure that states understand the obligations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the implications of the final rule.

Accordingly, CMS has been working with DOL on implementation of this final rule in state Medicaid systems. Shortly after the final rule was announced, DOL, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), held a series of webinars about the final rule, including two webinars targeted to state Medicaid, disability service, and labor officials. In these webinars, stakeholders asked about the impact of the final rule on “shared living” programs, a term used to describe a broad range of programs in which an individual receiving services lives together with the person providing those services, which may be called “adult foster care,” “host home,” “paid roommate,” “supported living,” “life sharing,” or by some other name.

DOL has issued two guidance documents describing how the FLSA applies to shared living programs: (1) an Administrator’s Interpretation providing a detailed analysis of the FLSA issues applicable to shared living programs; and (2) a Fact Sheet summarizing the FLSA analysis in the Administrator’s Interpretation by type of shared living program. These guidance documents, along with additional information about the final rule, are available at http://www.dol.gov/whd/homecare/. Further questions for DOL about the guidance documents on shared living programs or other inquiries about the final rule can be directed to homecare@dol.gov.

CMS will help disseminate any further guidance to states and other stakeholders on this topic from the Department of Labor. In addition, CMS stands ready to assist states with questions about Medicaid coverage or in-home program design, including shared living programs, as a result of the final rule. Please contact Dianne Kayala at Dianne.Kayala@cms.hhs.gov for further information.