H.R. 2304 — Ensuring Access to Affordable and Quality Home Care for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act

This section establishes definitions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for three terms used in exemptions from minimum wage and overtime requirements under section 13(a)(15) and (b)(21): (1) companionship services, meaning services providing fellowship, care, and protection for aged or infirm individuals unable to care for themselves—including non-medical personal care (e.g., assistance with daily living activities), related household work (e.g., meal preparation, laundry), and general household work not exceeding 20% of total weekly hours—but excluding services by trained medical personnel such as registered or practical nurses; (2) domestic service, meaning household services performed in or about a private home (permanent or temporary) by employees such as cooks, maids, nannies, home health aides, and certified nursing assistants; and (3) third-party employment, meaning employment of a worker providing companionship services or live-in domestic services by an employer other than the family or household using the services.

This section modifies the Fair Labor Standards Act's companionship services exemption (i.e., exemption of certain domestic service employees providing companionship to elderly or infirm individuals from minimum wage and overtime requirements) by (1) specifying that it includes services provided through third-party employment and (2) eliminating the Department of Labor's authority to define and delimit the terms by regulation. (Thus, the exemption applies regardless of whether workers are directly employed by the consumer or by an agency.)