The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (AB 241) Skip to Main Content CA.gov LinkedIn Flickr Twitter YouTube Bluesky Instagram Press room Careers at DIR Índice en español Settings Translate Reset High contrast Increase font size Font increase Decrease font size Font decrease Dyslexic font Search Menu Custom Google Search Submit Close Labor Law Labor Commissioner's Office Judgment Enforcement Unit Wages Offices BOFE Minors Outreach Policy Databases Opinions Retaliation Training Postings Registration Services Public Works Electrician Certification Cal/OSHA - Safety & Health Cal/OSHA Home Consultation Enforcement Heat Illness Prevention Injury & Illness Prevention Program Partnership Programs Payment Options Permits, Registrations, Certifications, & Licenses Public Safety Required Notifications Worker Safety & Health in Wildfire Regions Workplace Postings Workers' Comp Workers' Comp Home A - Z Index Court calendar Disability Evaluation Unit District Offices Electronic Adjudication Management System Employer Information Independent Medical Review Information and Assistance Unit Injured Worker Medical Unit The Return-to-Work Supplement Program UEBTF & SIBTF Self Insurance Self Insurance Home About Employers Groups Third Party Administrators Joint Power Authorities Audits Forms Regulations Contact Apprenticeship Apprenticeship Home Apprenticeship Search Public Works Sponsors Overview Educators Employers Veterans Director's Office Director's Office Home Office of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Office of the Director - Research Office of the Director - Decisions and Determinations Press Room Public Works Self Insurance Plans Labor Enforcement About DIR Boards Boards and Commissions Home Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC) Occupational Safety & Health Standards Board (OSHSB) Occupational Safety & Health Appeals Board (OSHAB) Workers' Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) Fast Food Council Industrial Welfare Commission (IWC) Labor Commissioner's Office The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights – Frequently Asked Questions Read a general summary of the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. General Questions Who is a domestic worker under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights? You are a domestic worker if you provide services related to the care of people in the home, or maintain private households or their premises. Domestic workers include nannies, childcare providers, caregivers and personal attendants, housekeepers, cooks, and other household workers. Who is a personal attendant under this law? A personal attendant is someone employed by a private householder or any third party employer recognized in the health care industry to work in a private household. Duties of a personal attendant include supervising, feeding, and dressing a child or person who needs assistance due to advanced age, physical disability, or mental deficiency. If a domestic worker spends more than 20 percent of his or her time performing work other than supervising, feeding, and dressing a child or person who needs supervision, he or she is not considered a personal attendant. Domestic workers who are NOT personal attendants are entitled to overtime under Wage Order No. 15 (see Question 4 below: “What overtime protections apply to domestic workers who are NOT personal attendants?”). Personal attendant duties include feeding, bathing, dressing, and direct supervision of any person under care. Non-attendant duties include making beds, housecleaning, cooking, laundry, or other duties related to the maintenance of a private household or the premises. What overtime protections apply to personal attendants? Personal attendants are entitled to overtime (1.5 x regular rate of pay) for any hours worked over nine (9) hours per day or over 45 hours per week, unless they are excluded employees or the employer is excluded under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. Which employees and employers are excluded under this law? Excluded Employees consist of family members (parent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, or child of the employer) someone under the age of 18 employed as a babysitter to a minor anyone who is a “casual babysitter” (meaning someone who babysits on an irregular or intermittent basis and is not a babysitter by vocation) anyone who provides services to the developmentally disabled through a state or regional center voucher program anyone who provides child care pursuant to certain child care acts (the Child Care and Development Services Act of the Education Code or the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids Act of the Welfare and Institutions Code) Excluded Employers consist of domestic worker registry or referral agencies that satisfy the requirements of Civil Code section 1812.5095 and Unemployment Insurance Code section 687.2 (specifically, such a referral agency must meet all the requirements of the Civil Code as solely a referral agency) licensed health care facilities clients overseeing or receiving services under the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights defines “domestic work employer” as any person, including corporate officers and executives, who directly or through an agent (such as temp services, staffing agencies, and the like), employs or controls wages, hours, and working conditions of domestic workers. What overtime protections apply to domestic workers who are NOT personal attendants? If you work in the home but you are NOT a personal attendant, then you are not covered by the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. However, regular overtime protections apply under Wage Order No. 15, which sets overtime protections for domestic workers who are not personal attendants. There are different overtime protections depending on the type of work performed: Non-live-in domestic workers who are not personal attendants are entitled to overtime (1.5 x the regular rate of pay) for hours worked over eight (8) in a day or 40 regular hours in a workweek; overtime for the first eight (8) hours on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek; double time (2 x the regular rate of pay) for hours worked over 12 in a day; and double time for hours worked over eight (8) on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek. Live-in domestic workers who are not personal attendants are entitled to overtime for hours worked over nine (9) in a day and for the first nine (9) hours worked on the sixth and seventh consecutive day of the workweek. Live-in employees are entitled to double time (2 x the regular rate of pay) for hours worked over nine (9) hours on the sixth and seventh consecutive day of workweek. Summary table: overtime for domestic workers IF YOU ARE… THEN YOU ARE ENTITLED TO… UNDER THIS LAW… Overtime (1.5 x regular rate of pay) Double time (2 x regular rate of pay) A personal attendant employed in a private household > 9 hours/day or > 45 hours/week n/a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights (Labor Code sections 1450─1454) Other type of domestic worker (not a personal attendant) Not live-in > 8 hours/day or > 40 hours/week > 12 hours/day or > 8 hours on the 7th consecutive day of work Wage Order No. 15 (normal overtime requirements) Live-in > 9 hours/day or Up to 9 hours worked on the 6th or 7th day of the week > 9 hours on the 6th or 7th day of the week Wage Order No. 15 (special overtime requirements) What overtime protections apply to personal attendants NOT working in a home? Personal attendants who do not work in the home are not covered under the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. Their employment may be governed under Wage Order No. 5, which governs the public housekeeping industry, including hospitals, sanitariums, rest homes, child nurseries and care institutions, homes for the aged, and similar establishments offering board or lodging in addition to medical, surgical, nursing, convalescent, aged, or child care. Under Wage Order No. 5, a personal attendant is an employee hired by a non-profit organization to supervise, dress, or feed a child or an adult with disability or advanced age. Personal attendants employed by non-profit institutions under Wage Order No. 5 are only entitled to overtime for hours worked in excess of 40 in a week or for any hours worked on the 7th consecutive day of the workweek. Personal attendants under Wage Order No. 5 are not entitled to double-time compensation. Note that workers in the public housekeeping industry who devote more than 20% of their time to duties other than the work of a personal attendant are not considered personal attendants under this wage order. This specific subcategory of domestic workers is entitled to normal overtime protections (as specified in the Wage Order No. 5): overtime pay (1.5 x the regular rate of pay) for hours worked in excess of eight (8) hours in a day or 40 regular hours in a week. They are also entitled to double time (2 x the regular rate of pay) for hours worked over 12 in a day or for hours worked over eight (8) on the seventh consecutive day of the workweek (in addition to regular overtime for the first eight (8) hours worked on the seventh consecutive day). Calculating overtime pay rates Are domestic workers entitled to the minimum wage? Yes. Domestic workers are entitled to the minimum wage, with the exception of babysitters under the age of 18 and the employer’s parent, spouse, or child. The Labor Commissioner enforces the California minimum wage. The Labor Commissioner may enforce local minimum wage laws if the work is performed in a city and/or county that has a higher minimum wage ordinance. Can meal and lodging credits be applied by an employer against a domestic worker’s wages? Yes. Meal and lodging credits can be applied. However, an employer must abide by the limits specified in Wage Order No. 15. That is, meals or lodging may only be credited against the minimum wage if the employer and the employee enter into a voluntary written agreement before the work is performed. (This requirement applies to all types of domestic workers.) EFFECTIVE: JANUARY 1, 2017 JANUARY 1, 2018 JANUARY 1, 2019 JANUARY 1, 2020 For an employer who employs: LODGING 26 or More Employees 25 or Fewer Employees 26 or More Employees 25 or Fewer Employees 26 or More Employees 25 or Fewer Employees 26 or More Employees 25 or Fewer Employees Room occupied alone $49.38/ week $47.03/ week $51.73/ week $49.38/ week $56.43/ week $51.73/ week $61.13/ week $56.43/ week Room shared $40.76/ week $38.82/ week $42.70/ week $40.76/ week $46.58/ week $42.70/ week $50.46/ week $46.58/ week Apartment – two thirds (2/3) of the ordinary rental value, and in no event more than: $593.05/ month $564.81/ month $621.29/ month $593.05/ month $677.75/ month $621.28/ month $734.21/ month $677.75/ month Where a couple are both employed by the employer, two thirds (2/3) of the ordinary rental value, and in no event more than: $877.27/ month $835.49/ month $919.04/ month $877.26/ month $1002.56/ month $919.02/ month $1086.07/ month $677.75/ month Meals Breakfast $3.80 $3.62 $3.98 $3.80 $4.34 $3.98 $4.70 $4.34 Lunch $5.22 $4.97 $5.47 $5.22 $5.97 $5.47 $6.47 $5.97 Dinner $7.09 $6.68 $7.35 $7.01 $8.01 $7.34 $8.68 $8.01 Procedure for filing a wage claim What can I do if my employer doesn't pay me my overtime wages? You can either file a wage claim with the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (also known as the Labor Commissioner’s Office), or you can file a lawsuit in court against your employer to recover the lost wages. Additionally, if you no longer work for this employer, you can make a claim for waiting time penalties according to Labor Code section 203. What happens after I file a wage claim? After you complete and file your wage claim with a local office of the Labor Commissioner’s Office, your case will be assigned to a Deputy Labor Commissioner, who will determine how best to proceed based upon the circumstances. Initial action may be referral to a conference or to a hearing. If the decision is to hold a conference, the parties will be notified by mail of the date, time, and place of the conference. The purpose of the conference is to determine the full amount being claimed and whether the matter can be resolved. If the claim is not resolved at the conference, the next step usually is to refer the matter to a hearing. At a hearing, the parties and witnesses testify under oath, and the proceeding is recorded. After the hearing, an Order, Decision, or Award (ODA) will be provided by the Labor Commissioner. Either party may appeal the ODA to a civil court. The court will set the matter for trial, with each party having the opportunity to present evidence and witnesses. If the employer appeals the Labor Commissioner’s decision, the Labor Commissioner’s Office may represent an employee who is financially unable to afford counsel in the court proceeding. See the Policies and Procedures of Wage Claim Processing pamphlet for more detail on the wage claim process. What can I do if I prevail at the hearing and the employer neither pays nor appeals the Order, Decision, or Award? When the Order, Decision, or Award (ODA) is in the employee's favor and there is no appeal, but the employer does not pay the ODA, the Labor Commissioner’s Office will have the court enter the ODA as a judgment against the employer. This ruling has the same force and effect as any other money judgment entered by the court. After the judgment is entered, the Labor Commissioner’s Office will provide you with a letter explaining your collection options. What can I do if my employer retaliates against me because I told him I was going to file a wage claim for unpaid overtime? If your employer discriminates or retaliates against you in any manner whatsoever (for example by terminating you or giving you fewer hours), you can file a discrimination/retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner's Office. Alternatively, you can file a lawsuit against your employer in court. 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