Labor Dept. Proposes Easier Pay Rules for Home Caregivers
Published Date: 7/2/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
If you hire home helpers like caregivers or housekeepers, this update matters! The government wants to bring back old rules that let some helpers skip overtime and minimum wage rules, making care more affordable. These changes could start soon, helping families and workers find a fair balance without extra costs.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Companionship workers exempted from pay rules
The Department proposes returning to the 1975 rules that let workers who provide "companionship services" be exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act minimum wage and overtime requirements. The 1975 rules were in place after Congress applied the FLSA to domestic service in 1974 and were changed by the Department in 2013 to narrow the exemption.
Live-in domestic workers may remain exempt from overtime
The proposal would return to the earlier rule that live-in domestic service employees are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. That exemption was part of the 1975 regulations and was narrowed by the Department in 2013.
Agencies allowed to claim domestic-worker exemptions
The Department proposes to restore the 1975 regulation that permitted third-party employers (such as care staffing agencies) to claim the companionship and live-in exemptions under the FLSA. The 2013 rules had prevented third-party employers from using those exemptions, and the proposal would reverse that change.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
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