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Families often pay straight hourly wages to in home caregivers.  But paying $18 an hour to a caregiver for a twelve hour shift may end up costing the family much more.  As noted in a prior post, California law classifies in home caregivers as employees and they must be paid in accord with wage and hour laws.

Attorney Bob King created and operates Legally Nanny®, an employment law firm located in Orange County that represents home care and nanny agencies as well as household employers.  Listen here for our conversation on Trust Me!, the podcast of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association.

Bob provides a practical take on the laws that apply to in home caregivers in California.  A caregiver who works a long shift cannot be paid a straight hourly wage “off the books.”  Under California’s Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, even when caregivers meet the definition of “personal attendant,” they are entitled to overtime, at one and one-half times the caregiver’s regular rate of pay, if they work more than nine hours in a day or 40 hours per week.

A dynamic speaker, Bob explains how parenting his daughter led him into this practice area and why caregiving for elders often carries greater potential liability than caregiving for children.  Indeed, elders who directly employ caregivers without following the rules may find themselves facing hefty wage and hour claims as well as federal and state tax liability.

When the elder passes, the lingering liability can complicate the administration of the elder’s estate and/or trust.  Bob offers suggestions on how to resolve such concerns.

I thank Bob for joining me and hope you enjoy the podcast.  Please subscribe to Trust Me! to receive new podcast episodes as they are released.