Press release:
Tender Loving Family Care Inc., (TLFC) a New York State Licensed Home Care Services Agency based in Rochester is proud to announce that they have increased the minimum wage for all essential employees of their agency to $15 an hour.
In addition to Genesee County, the agency serves families in Monroe, Orleans, Ontario, Livingston, Wayne and Wyoming counties.
This wage increase comes at a crucial time when families have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Most employees can look for the increase in their paychecks effective April 30.
In addition to the increase in minimum wage, TLFC has also enhanced their employees' benefits by introducing a wellness and resiliency-building program that seeks to help their staff cope with the effects of COVID-19 and beyond. This program, powered by TLC Virtual Resiliency, provides weekly virtual workshops run by licensed psychologists and certified wellness professionals for the benefit of TLFC employees. The program assists in helping all employees cope with stress, building resiliency, and reducing burnout.
By increasing the minimum wage to $15 per hour, TLFC hopes to alleviate some of the burdens their employees have faced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We understand that there are great, caring people in the community that have lost jobs due to COVID that may not feel they possess the skills for Home Care," said Annika D’Andrea, chief executive officer, Tender Loving Family Care. "We want to help those individuals return to the workforce by providing training and support for those loving people that would like to help seniors stay independent and safe in their home.
“Our employees have been on the frontlines during this pandemic. We are proud to be ahead of the curve, as our employees have sacrificed so much for our community, and we are fortunate we can lead the way with this increase much sooner than required by New York State Law. Here at TLFC we aim to create a rewarding workplace for our staff. Increasing the minimum wage, providing PCA training for those who qualify, and introducing the resiliency program developed by TLC Virtual Resiliency Inc. are a few ways we aim to provide them with the support and resources they need. I am extremely proud of the resilient team we have."
In New York State, the minimum wage increase to $15 is being phased in. New York City large employers -- 11 or more workers -- were the first required to make the increase as of Dec. 31, 2018, followed by NYC small employers on Dec. 31, 2019. Long Island and Westchester are now at $14 an hour and will go up to $15 the end of this year. The remainder of the state, including the Finger Lakes Region, went to $12.50 an hour at the end of last year.
Continuing increases until the $15 hourly minimum wage is met for the remainder of the state will be announced annually by the NYS Department of Labor on or before Oct. 1.
The raise will be based on percentage increases determined by the director of the Division of Budget, based on economic indices, including the Consumer Price Index. Therefore, it is undetermined when $15 an hour will be the requirement in this region.
But TLFC has opted to lead the way with the accelerated adoption of this wage now.
Americans are struggling and our healthcare workers have been the backbone of our community during this pandemic. Implementing the increase before mandated will prove to be very beneficial to many employees and their families.
