NYC Home Care Workers Push to Ban 24-Hour Shifts and Limit Weekly Hours

Cai Qiong Liu came to the United States in 2005 and spent 18 years as a home health aide, frequently working four to five back-to-back 24-hour live-in shifts with only 13 hours of paid time, which she says caused lasting back pain, headaches and memory loss. Her story mirrors a wider trend among immigrant women of color who make up the majority of NYC home-care workers and earn a median wage of $16 per hour. Activists are rallying behind the No More 24 Act (Int 303), originally introduced by Councilmember Christopher Marte, to ban 24-hour shifts and cap weekly hours at 56.

The bill stalled under former Speaker Adrienne Adams, received a renewed but unfulfilled pledge from Speaker Julie Menin, and has prompted two eight-day hunger strikes, a lawsuit victory over wage-theft dismissals, and a United Nations Working Group letter condemning the shifts as inhumane. Critics, including disability advocate Jose Hernandez and Legal Aid Society attorney Belkys Garcia, warn the legislation could force patients into nursing homes and require costly Medicaid adjustments. The City Council remains divided, and a large protest is slated for October.