Home care overtime calculator
Last checked against official sources: (ecfr.gov; ecfr.gov; ecfr.gov; ecfr.gov)
Enter care hours, travel between clients, employer type (household vs agency), and whether the worker live-in. The live-in overtime exemption applies only when a household employer directly employs the worker; agencies must pay overtime over 40 hours even for live-in aides (29 CFR 552.109(c)).
Pay inputs
Results
Compensable hours: 42 (care 38 + travel 4)
Regular: 40 h · Overtime: 2 h
Gross pay: $774.00
- Non-resident home care employees are owed overtime over 40 hours in the workweek at one and one-half times the regular rate (29 CFR 552.100).
- Travel between job sites during the workday generally counts as hours worked (29 CFR 785.38).
Home care pay rules cited from 29 CFR 552.100, 29 CFR 552.102 (live-in), 29 CFR 552.109 (third-party employers), and travel time in 29 CFR 785.38. State domestic-worker laws may differ. Not legal advice.
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FAQ
- Do live-in caregivers get overtime?
- When the household is the employer, live-in domestic service employees are exempt from FLSA overtime under 29 CFR 552.102 (section 13(b)(21)) but must still receive at least the applicable minimum wage for compensable hours. Home care agencies and other third-party employers may not use that exemption (29 CFR 552.109(c)) and owe overtime over 40 hours in the workweek.
- Is travel time between clients paid?
- Travel from job site to job site during the workday is generally hours worked under 29 CFR 785.38 and counts toward weekly hours for overtime-eligible employees.
- When does overtime start for home care workers?
- Employees who are not exempt from overtime (including agency live-in workers and non-live-in employees) must receive time and one-half after 40 hours in the workweek (29 CFR 552.100).
How this calculator works
Home care agencies and families hiring domestic service workers use this page to estimate compensable hours, travel time, and federal overtime for a workweek under 29 CFR Part 552. Choose household vs agency employer—the live-in overtime exemption is not available to third-party employers.
Non-live-in caregivers
Section 552.100 provides that domestic service employees who work more than 40 hours in any one workweek for the same employer must be paid overtime compensation at a rate not less than one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for such excess hours, unless the employee is one who resides in the employer's household.
Household live-in caregivers
section 13(b)(21) provides an exemption from the Act's overtime requirements for domestic service employees who reside in the household where employed. But this exemption does not excuse the employer from paying the live-in worker at the applicable minimum wage rate for all hours worked. In determining hours worked, the employee and the employer may exclude, by agreement between themselves, the amount of sleeping time, meal time and other periods of complete freedom from all duties when the employee may either leave the premises or stay on the premises for purely personal pursuits. (see also 29 CFR 552.102).
Agency employers
Third party employers of employees engaged in live-in domestic service employment within the meaning of § 552.102 may not avail themselves of the overtime exemption provided by section 13(b)(21) of the Act, even if the employee is jointly employed by the individual or member of the family or household using the services. However, the individual or member of the family or household, even if considered a joint employer, is still entitled to assert the exemption. (29 CFR 552.109(c)). Select agency employer in the calculator to apply weekly overtime even when the aide live-in at a client's home.
Travel between clients
Part 552 cross-references hours-worked rules in Part 785. For travel, Time spent by an employee in travel as part of his principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, must be counted as hours worked. (29 CFR 785.38). Enter travel hours separately so you can see their effect on the forty-hour weekly test when overtime applies.
| Input or result | Example |
|---|---|
| Compensable hours | 44 |
| Regular hours | 40 |
| Overtime hours | 4 |
| Gross pay | $920.00 (40×$20 + 4×$30) |
People also ask
- Can sleep time be unpaid for a live-in aide?
- 29 CFR 552.102 allows household employers and live-in workers to exclude agreed sleeping time, meal time, and other duty-free periods from hours worked when the worker may leave or use the time for personal pursuits.
- Can a home care agency use the live-in overtime exemption?
- No. 29 CFR 552.109(c) states that third-party employers of live-in domestic service workers may not use the section 13(b)(21) overtime exemption, even when the worker is jointly employed by the family using the services.
Totals shown here are estimates for checking a pay stub or time sheet. They are not official payroll, tax, or legal advice.