--- description: Historical discrimination, demographics, and public funding have left home care workers at the very bottom of the American work hierarchy. title: This Is the Worst Paying, Fastest-Growing Job in America image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb3d4fbc50449497/6986a34ff983e7532504fa0f/home-care-worker.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Workplace & Careers](/tag/workplace-careers/) ## Workplace & Careers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Is the Worst Paying, Fastest-Growing Job in America by [Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2014 4:45 PM CUT  A community nurse making home visits in a rural area. A community nurse making home visits in a rural area.BSIP—UIG via Getty Images by [Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 15, 2014 4:45 PM CUT  This post is in partnership with Fortune, which offers the latest business and finance news. Read the article below originally published at [Fortune.com](http://fortune.com/2014/09/15/home-care-workers/ "undefined"). _By Claire Zillman_ On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown [signed legislation making the state](http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/10/6695628/jerry-brown-signs-bill-requiring.html "undefined") the second in the nation to institute statewide paid sick leave. At the signing ceremony, [Brown said that the legislation](http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/10/6695628/jerry-brown-signs-bill-requiring.html#storylink=cpy "undefined")—expected to bring paid sick leave to most of the 6.5 million Californians currently without it—“helps people—whether it’s a person working at a car wash or McDonald’s or 7-Eleven.” Well there’s one group of people it doesn’t help: home health care workers. Because of cost concerns, Brown negotiated a last-minute amendment that exempts home health care workers from the law. The carve-out of these workers is not surprising, says Abby Marquand, director of policy research at the Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, a nonprofit advocacy organization. Why? Workers who care for the elderly and disabled in their homes are “an easy target for holding down costs,” she says. “Collectively, as a society, we haven’t valued the work they do in the way we should.” That’s a problem in and of itself, and it has been amplified by the fact that [the home care industry is the fastest-growing sector of the American economy](http://phinational.org/sites/phinational.org/files/phi-facts-5.pdf "undefined"). [_For the rest of the story, please go to Fortune.com._](http://fortune.com/2014/09/15/home-care-workers/ "undefined") This Is the Worst Paying, Fastest-Growing Job in America ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3378796/home-care-workers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3378796/home-care-workers/"},"headline":"This Is the Worst Paying, Fastest-Growing Job in America","datePublished":"2014-09-15T16:45:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:07:46.292Z","description":"Historical discrimination, demographics, and public funding have left home care workers at the very bottom of the American work hierarchy","url":"https://time.com/3378796/home-care-workers/","keywords":["Workplace & Careers","Economy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb3d4fbc50449497/6986a34ff983e7532504fa0f/home-care-worker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Fortune","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/fortune/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdb3d4fbc50449497/6986a34ff983e7532504fa0f/home-care-worker.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Home Care Workers","caption":"Home Care Workers","creditText":"BSIP—UIG via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/workplace-careers/","name":"Workplace & Careers"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3378796/home-care-workers/","name":"This Is the Worst Paying, Fastest-Growing Job in America"}}]}] ```