Proposed wage and benefit cuts to more than 12,000 home care gives in Fresno were halted today by a temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Oakland.

The cuts, scheduled to take place in the next few days, would have reduced pay for those in the County's Home Care program from $10.25 an hour down to $8. The Board of Supervisors claimed a savings of $5 million in the process, however, the move would have also cost the County $33 million in state and federal matching funds, according to a statement from SEIU United Healthcare Workers-West, which represents 150,000 health care employees.

The temporary restraining order is part of a class action lawsuit filed in October on behalf of four low-income Californians who rely on In Home Supportive Services (IHSS). It also takes into account a ruling earlier this year by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken who prevented the state from implementing a state budget law requiring a $2 per-hour reduction in the maximum contribution to (IHSS) wages.

The lawsuit was filed by Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Legal Center, National Senior Citizens Law Center, the National Health Law Program and four unions that represent IHSS home care workers: SEIU United Long Term Care Workers; SEIU United Healthcare Workers West; SEIU Local 521; and UDW Homecare Providers Unions–AFSCME Local 3930.