Caregivers

If you are/were employed as a caregiver by an employment agency and worked in a private home you may be entitled to thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime.  Under the Department of Labor rules caregivers employed by third parties are required to be paid overtime for all hours worked in a week over 40.

Under the old regulations, caregivers employed by third parties were not required to be paid overtime when they worked in a private home.  The law has changed for caregivers.

Caregivers and Overtime

Effective January 1, 2015, most direct care workers will be entitled to receive federal minimum wage and overtime pay protections. Direct care workers are workers who provide home care services, such as certified nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides, caregivers, and companions.

Effective January 1, 2015, most direct care workers are entitled to be paid at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. If you are a direct care worker employed by a home care agency or another employer other than the person you assist or that person’s family or household, then you are entitled to be paid at least the federal minimum wage and overtime pay. If you’re employed only by the person you assist or that person’s family or household, then you may or may not be entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay, depending on your duties.

Household Work. The Final Rule limits household work to that benefitting the elderly person or person with an illness, injury, or disability. Household work that primarily benefits other members of the household, such as making dinner for another household member or doing laundry for everyone in the household, results in loss of the companionship exemption and thus the employee would be entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay for that workweek.

Medically Related Services. The definition of companionship services does not include the provision of medically related services which are typically performed by trained personnel. Under the Final Rule, the determination of whether a task is medically related is based on whether the services typically require (and are performed by) trained personnel, such as registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, or certified nursing assistants. The determination is not based on the actual training or occupational title of the worker performing the services. Performance of medically related tasks during the workweek results in loss of the exemption and the employee is entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay for that workweek.

If you are by an agency and are working more than 40 hours a week (most do) please contact me to determine how the new law may entitle you to unpaid overtime wages.