Paying Your Caregiver for an Overnight Shift

Apr 17, 2025 | GTM Blog, Household Employer Policies

overnight-caregiver

Is your nanny or senior caregiver helping with overnights or weekend care? Maybe you have work trips or just need a break. Paying for these extra hours is not always as simple as just picking a number. You could run into issues with wage laws if that flat fee doesn’t cover all the hours worked, paid at least at the legal minimum wage.

Getting it right depends on a few things, like when they’re working and what the rules are in your state. Here’s what you should keep in mind when you’re paying your caregiver for those overnight shifts.

Paying for an Overnight During the Week

When a nanny or senior caregiver is required to provide overnight care during the week, a specific framework for compensation must be used. The caregiver will typically fulfill their standard daytime working hours, remain at the house throughout the evening and night, and resume their regular duties the following day.

Federal regulations say that, in cases where overnight care directly adjoins a scheduled workday, up to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep time may be designated as unpaid. However, should the caregiver be required to attend to the needs of the children or seniors during this sleep period, such as feeding, changing, or tending to a sick child, the time must be paid for. It is important to research your specific state law; for example, California requires all hours to be paid, even when the caregiver is sleeping.

It is also important to consider overtime regulations. Should the additional hours worked during a workweek, including an overnight shift, cause the caregiver’s total weekly hours to exceed 40, all hours worked beyond this threshold must be compensated at the overtime rate of one and one-half times the regular rate of pay.

Paying for an Overnight During the Weekend

Under federal labor law, shifts lasting fewer than 24 hours do not qualify for a sleep time exemption. Therefore, in instances where a caregiver’s work period spans, for example, from 4 p.m. on a Saturday to 12 p.m. on a Sunday, the entirety of the 20-hour duration is considered compensable work time. If your caregiver has already worked or exceeded 40 hours within the established workweek prior to this additional shift, all hours worked during these 20 hours must be paid at the legally mandated overtime rate.

Paying a Caregiver for a Shift Longer than 24 Hours

When an employee is working a shift of 24 hours or more, sleep time can be excluded if:

The employer furnishes adequate sleeping facilities
The employee’s time spent sleeping is usually uninterrupted
There is an expressed or implied agreement to exclude sleep time

An “expressed or implied agreement” regarding the exclusion of sleep time means either a written or verbal agreement that your employee will not be paid for sleep time or an agreement to exclude sleep time that is implied by your and your employee’s conduct. If your caregiver objects to the exclusion of sleep time from their hours worked, no such agreement exists, and all hours spent on duty, including time spent sleeping, must be counted as work time.

For “adequate sleeping facilities,” in general, you must ensure that your employee has:

Access to basic sleeping amenities
Reasonable standards of comfort
Basic bathroom and kitchen facilities

Interruptions during which your caregiver performs tasks on your behalf, as the employer, must always be paid as work time. Suppose the interruptions are so frequent that your employee cannot get reasonable periods of sleep totaling at least five hours during the scheduled sleeping period. In that case, the entire period must be counted as time spent working and paid accordingly.

More information can be found on the U.S. Department of Labor’s Domestic Service Final Rule Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

In Conclusion

Navigating the complexities of tax, wage, and labor regulations when employing a nanny or senior caregiver can be challenging, especially if paying for an overnight shift, and errors can result in significant financial penalties. Contact GTM household employment experts today to discuss your specific situation. To learn more, give us a call at (800) 929-9213 or schedule time with us at your convenience.