Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

QUESTION: I work as a live-in personal attendant for my elderly employer. Am I entitled to overtime pay like other employees?

Answer: Yes. However, there are slightly different rules that apply when the household worker is "live-in employee." Workers engaged in household occupations, including personal attendants, are entitled to overtime pay, minimum wages, rest and meal breaks, just like any other employee.

"Household occupations" means all services related to the care of persons or maintenance of the employer’s private household. These jobs include butlers, chauffeurs, companions, cooks, day workers, gardeners, practical nurses, housekeepers, tutors, valets, and personal attendants. California’s rules governing household occupations are found in Wage Order No. 15.

Regardless of the agreement between employer and employee, household employees are protected by minimum wage and overtime laws. This means that even if the employer and employee "agreed" orally or in writing for the employee to be paid a set or fixed monthly salary, the court may ignore the agreement if it violates the law. For example, if the agreement is for a Nanny to be paid $1,000 per month for work of 8 hours/day or 40 hrs/week, this may be disregarded because it will pay less than the minimum wage of $8.00 per hour.

For live-in household employees, the following wage and hour rules apply: A live-in employee may not be required to work in excess of 12 hours. He or she is entitled to at least 12 consecutive hours of rest or being off-duty during a workday. During the 12-hour span of work shift, the employee shall have at least 3 hours of off-duty. These off-duty hours need not be consecutive or continuous, but may be spread throughout the work period by agreement between the employer and employee.

When the employee is required or permitted to work during the scheduled 3 off-duty hours or the consecutive 12 off-duty hours, he or she must be paid 1½ times the regular rate of pay for all those extra hours worked. Employees may not be required to work more than 5 days in any one workweek without a day off of 24 consecutive hours, except in an emergency.

If emergency overtime work is required, the employee must be paid 1½ times the regular rate of pay up to nine (9) hours of work. Overtime work exceeding 9 hours on the 6th and 7th workdays shall be paid at double the regular rate of pay. For non-live-in employees, the general wage and hours rules applicable to other occupations apply, among which are the following: Regular rates apply for the first 8 hours of work in a workday, up to 40 hours in a workweek.

One and one-half times the regular rate apply for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours up to 12 hours in any workday, and for the first 8 hours of the seventh consecutive day of work in the workweek. Double the regular rate of pay shall apply for all hours worked in excess of 12 hours in any workday and for all hours worked in excess of 8 hours on the seventh consecutive day of work in the workweek. Overtime rate is not required for work on 7 workdays in one week when the total hours of work during the workweek do not exceed 30 hours and the total hours of work in any one workday do not exceed 6 hours.

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Bander Law Firm, LLP has been providing immigration services for over 15 years and has multilingual staff. Feel free to call Bander Law Firm, LLP at (213) 873-4333 to schedule your consultation regarding your legal concerns. Bander Law Firm provides a full range of legal services in the fields of Immigration, Mortgage Litigation, Personal Injury, Bankruptcy, Criminal and Removal Defense, Civil and Business Litigation, Wage and Hour Litigation and Class Action lawsuits.

Bander Law Firm, LLP Downtown office address: 1055 W. 7th Street, Suite 1950, Los Angeles, CA, 90017. Tel: (213) 873–4333 Fax: (213) 873–4334. San Gabriel Office address: 1045 E. Valley Blvd., #A215, San Gabriel, CA 91776. Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .