Overtime Law for Housekeepers & Nannies

Breedlove & Associates is a great resource for learning about tax and payroll laws for housekeepers and all other household workers. They are the leading company for this in the nation. The question of Overtime Law and how this affects Household Workers is a subject that they get frequently asked. Here is how they respond:

"Household employees must be compensated according to the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which provides the framework for federal and state wage and hour law. The FLSA classifies household employees as non-exempt workers, requiring that the household employment industry provide overtime pay. Here is an outline of what you need to know in order to structure your household employment relationship successfully:

1) The standard workweek is defined as 40 hours in a 7-day period.

2) An employee's hourly earnings must be equal to or greater than the federal minimum wage at the time. Some states have higher minimum wage which bumps the federal rate.

3) Overtime must be paid 1.5 times the regular hourly rate - and it must be paid for all the hours worked over 40 in a week.

4) Overtime is not required for holidays worked.

5) No limit is placed on the number of hours worked in a 7-day workweek, as long as the employee is fairly compensated.

6) Live-in household employees do not have to be paid overtime but are entitled to the regular hourly wage for every hour worked.

7) Additional overtime requirements can be imposed by the state."

It is recommended that salary, as well as the regular rate and overtime rate, be addressed in writing in order to protect both employer and employee. When overtime is not explicitly stipulated in an employment contract for salaried employees, the law will side with the employee in an overtime dispute. More importantly, a critical relationship may terminate over a wage issue that could have been handled correctly and easily at the time of hiring.