by Cathleen S. Yonahara
A new California law taking effect January 1, 2014, grants overtime pay for at least the next three years to domestic workers who are personal attendants.
Under old state law, “personal attendants” are exempt from statutory overtime and meal and rest break provisions, but they are not exempt from minimum wage requirements.
A personal attendant is defined as any person employed by a private householder or any third-party employer recognized in the healthcare 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. To have personal attendant status, the employee may not spend more than 20 percent of his or her weekly work time engaged in other duties.
The new law, referred to as the “Domestic Worker Bill of Rights,” provides for overtime for domestic workers, including live-in domestic workers, who are personal attendants. There are several exceptions, including, but not limited to, casual babysitters, certain family members, workers employed by a licensed healthcare facility, and persons employed pursuant to a voucher. Overtime must be paid at 1½ times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked over nine in a workday or over 45 in a workweek.
The new law carries a three-year sunset provision. After three years, the governor is to convene a committee to study the effects of the law, and lawmakers will have three years to make the new law permanent.
For more information on this topic, see “Governor signs bill granting domestic workers overtime pay” in the October 14, 2013, issue of California Employment Law Letter.
Cathleen S. Yonahara is an attorney with Freeland Cooper & Foreman LLP in San Francisco and can be reached at yonahara@freelandlaw.com.