Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act

# Summary of Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act This comprehensive legislation aims to improve conditions for the long-term care workforce (referred to as "direct care professionals") through multiple key components: 1. **Workforce Development & Safety**: Establishes workplace violence prevention standards requiring covered employers to develop written violence prevention plans, conduct incident investigations, provide training, and maintain records. 2. **Paid Sick Time Requirements**: Mandates that employers provide direct care professionals with at least 1 hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked (up to 56 hours per year), with specific uses including: - Medical care for the employee - Caring for family members - Domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking situations - Public health emergencies (with additional paid sick time provided during emergencies) 3. **National Compensation Strategy**: Creates a National Direct Care Professional Compensation Strategy requiring the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop and update a strategy for providing direct care professionals with livable wages, including recommendations on: - Calculating fair labor costs - Medicaid and public payer policies for compensation - Setting clear employer expectations for compensation - Tying training/certification to increased compensation 4. **Advisory Council**: Establishes a National Direct Care Professional Compensation Advisory Council with diverse representation to advise on compensation strategies. 5. **Evaluation & Accountability**: Requires evaluation of the legislation's implementation and outcomes, tracking spending by states, and analyzing impacts on workforce retention, compensation, working conditions, and service delivery. The legislation addresses multiple challenges in the direct care workforce, including low pay, high turnover, workplace violence, and lack of benefits, with the goal of improving both worker conditions and the quality of care for individuals receiving long-term services.