Domestic workers’ right to overtime compensation is included in Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (DWBR), which is codified in California Labor Code §1450 et seq. One key provision of DWBR provides “A domestic work employee who is a perosnal attendant shall not be employed more than nine hours in any workday or more than 45 hours in any workweek unless the employee receives one and one-half times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over nine hours in any workday, and for all hours worked more than 45 hours in the workweek.” Labor Code §1454.
“Personal attendant” within the meaning of DWBR means any person employed by a private householder or by any third-party employer (such as domestic worker agency) recognized in the health care industry to work in a private household, to supervise, feed, or dress a child, or a person who by reason of advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency needs supervision. The status of personal attendant shall apply when no significant amount of work other than the above is required. “Domestic work employee” means an individual who performs domestic work and includes live-in domestic work employees and personal attendants. Labor Code §1451(b)(1). The law includes several exceptions, notably for close relatives and occasional babysitters.
“Domestic work employer” means a person, including coprorate officers or executives, who directly or indirectly, or through an agent or any other person, including through the services of a third-party employer, temporary service, or staffing agency or simliar entity, employs or exercises control over the wages, hours, or working conditions of a domestic work employee. Labor Code §1451(c)(1).
In practice, both employees and employers in the domestic work industry should keep in mind two important points:
(a) A domestic worker is entitled to overtime pay. Failure to pay overtime would give that worker the right to file a claim for unpaid overtime and all applicable penalties and interest.
(b) Because the law covers employees to employers who “directly or indirectly” employ the domestic worker, both the person being taken care of or their family member who hired the worker and any staffing agency involved in that relationship could be potnetially held liable for failure to pay all wages due / overtime.