Why does everything in the law have to be so complicated? As an attorney, I feel the same way as everyone else.
As an attorney practicing law for more than three decades, I have seen many cases where people caring for the elderly just simply get taken advantage of by their employers, by either getting paid cash, getting paid on a daily or weekly rate (without taxes being taken out), or not getting properly paid for overtime work done.
Let me try to simplify things here:
PERSONAL ATTENDANT
A personal attendant is someone who works for a private person in their home or for a company (recognized in the health care industry) hired by a private person that helps in supervising, feeding, dressing, bathing a child or a person who needs help because of their advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency.
OVERTIME PAY FOR PERSONAL ATTENDANT:
A personal attendant is entitled to overtime (1.5 times the employee’s hourly rate) for any hours worked over nine (9) hours per day or over 45 hours per week, unless an exclusion applies.
DOMESTIC WORKERS
A domestic worker focuses their attention on the home or people in the home. These employees include nannies, personal attendants, housekeepers, cooks, and other household staff. A domestic worker spends most of his/her time making beds, housecleaning, cooking, laundry, or other duties related to the private household. They can assist with feeding, dressing, bathing a person because of their advanced age, physical, or mental disability, but it’s really a very small part of their duties (usually less that 20% of their job).
OVERTIME FOR DOMESTIC WORKERS
A domestic worker can be live-in employee or non-live-in.
Live-in: These employees get overtime for hours worked over nine (9) hours in a day and for the first nine (9) hours worked on the sixth and seventh consecutive days of the workweek. Live-in employees are entitled to double time (twice the hourly rate of pay) for hours worked over nine (9) hours on the sixth and seventh consecutive days of the workweek.
Non-live-in: These employees are entitled to overtime at (1.5 times the hourly rate of pay) for ours worked over eight (8) hours in a day or 40 hours in a workweek. These employees also get overtime for the first eight (8) hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek. Double time (2 times the hourly rate of pay) is required for hours worked over 12 hours in a day and over all hours worked over eight (8) hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek.
DAMAGES CAN BE SIGNIFICANT IF YOU ARE NOT PAID PROPERLY. If you are caring for the elderly or a disabled minor and feel you have not been paid correctly, give us call at (818) 657-1070, and let’s see if we can help you get what you are owed. Thanks for reading this story.