S. 4081 — Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act

This section revises exemptions from minimum wage and overtime requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for certain caregivers and adds related definitions. It (1) limits the exemption in Section 13(a)(15) to babysitting services provided on a casual basis (from casual basis in domestic service employment to provide babysitting or companionship services in or about a private home, as defined and delimited by regulations of the Secretary of Labor), (2) repeals the Section 13(b)(21) overtime exemption for companions providing fellowship, protection, and incidental housekeeping (<20% of time) to aged or infirm individuals in private homes when directly employed by the household (i.e., not agency-placed), and (3) defines in Section 3 “babysitting services” as custodial care and protection of infants or children in their private home (excluding services by trained nurses or home care workers, including home health aides and personal care aides) and “casual basis” for such services as irregular or intermittent employment that is not an individual’s vocation (allowing unrelated household work up to 20% of total hours). (Thus, more caregivers, including companions, become entitled to FLSA minimum wage and overtime pay.)