Proposed Rulemaking concerning Minimum Wage and Overtime

The U.S. Department of Labor published a notice of proposed rulemaking today concerning the extension of minimum wage and overtime protections to almost two million caretakers who provide in-home care services to the infirm and elderly. Members of the public may comment on the notice of proposed rulemaking at www.regulations.gov beginning December 27, 2011, and ending on February 27, 2012.

The companionship and live-in worker regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act will be revised under the proposal so that the tasks that may be performed by an exempt companion are more clearly defined and the companionship exemption is limited to companions employed only by the family or household using the services. Under the proposal, third party employers (such as in-home care staffing agencies) will not be able to claim companionship or overtime exemptions for live-in domestic workers, regardless of whether the live-in domestic worker is employed by the third party employer alone or employed jointly by the third party employer and the family or household. For additional information please click here.