{"id":12009,"date":"2017-02-24T10:02:36","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T15:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/household\/?p=12009"},"modified":"2020-03-04T15:48:08","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T20:48:08","slug":"paying-home-care-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gtm.com\/household\/paying-home-care-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Paying Home Care Workers Checklist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"payingThe Department of Labor (DOL) has\u00a0very strict wage and hour requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act<\/a> (FLSA)\u00a0as it applies to most home care workers. Following their publication of the Home Care Final Rule in 2015, many employers still have questions about the rules for paying home care workers legally. We have created a handy checklist for paying home care workers\u00a0to help\u00a0individuals and households determine their responsibilities under the FLSA.<\/p>\n

What is a home care worker?<\/h2>\n

The DOL defines a home care worker as someone who provides certain types of services in private homes. The DOL labels these services as fellowship and protection (keeping company, playing games, hobbies), personal care (dressing, bathing, cooking, cleaning, etc.), and\/or health-related services (injections, tube feeding, other medical-related activities). Home care workers can be live-in or live-out. A home care worker’s job title may be something like a home health aide, personal care attendant, certified nursing assistant (CNA), provider, or caregiver. It’s important to note that health-related or personal services that are provided in a group home, nursing home, residential care facility, or hospital are NOT home care services.<\/p>\n

The Companionship Services Exemption<\/h2>\n

There are\u00a0limited circumstances in which household<\/em> employers\u00a0are not subject to the FLSA requirements of\u00a0paying a home care worker federal minimum wage and overtime pay (home care workers employed by an agency or other outside party are required to be paid minimum wage and overtime by that employer). The companionship services exemption occurs only if:<\/p>\n

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  1. The home care worker spends less than 20%\u00a0of their time per week providing personal grooming services like cleaning, bathing, cooking, cleaning, etc.;<\/li>\n
  2. No medical services are performed by the home care worker, or;<\/li>\n
  3. No housework is\u00a0performed for the benefit of the whole family or household, such as preparing meals for the family or doing other household members’ laundry. The only housework done is for the person for whom the home care worker was hired.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Checklist for Paying Home Care Workers<\/h2>\n