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Evelyn Coke spent 20 years as a home care aide helping the elderly and the sick but she did not live and see fair labor laws applied to her work.(1)____In a case that it went to the Supreme Court in 2007, Ms. Coke, who died in 2009, sued her employer with years of unpaid overtime work.(2)____(3)____ This month, the president invoked Ms. Coke's memory when he announced that the Labor Department had proposed changes to the provisions which the court had based its decision．(4)____
At issue in Ms. Coke's case is a 1975 labor rule that defined home care aides as "companions," a class of workers that do not qualify for federal minimum wage and overtime protections.(5)____(6)____ Ms. Coke's lawyer, Craig Becker, argued that the rule was supposed to apply only to occasional domestic workers, like baby sitters, not home care aides-one of the nation's fastest-growing occupations and one whose duties often include feeding, bathing and dressing clients. And the justices said that only Congress or the Labor Department could change the rule, not the court.(7)____ The new proposal states clearly that home care aides who are employed by third-party agencies are entitled to the minimum wage and overtime payment.(8)____ Aides hired directly by families are also covered if they are engaging in housekeeping or spend more than 20 percent of their time on activities other than companionship.(9)____ The Labor Department will finalize the proposal after a 60-day public comment period. Some home care agencies are sure to complain, but the Labor Department should stand firmly.(10)____
