2016 was a busy year in household employment. From Domestic Worker Bill of Rights legislation, stepped up enforcement of independent contractor misclassification and the implementation of Fair Labor Standards Act updates impacting in home senior caregivers and domestic worker overtime eligibility, the states and Federal governments have been busy in this arena.

Psst! We have a secret for you. Pull your chair up, adjust your glasses, and start reading. Let’s get down to the nitty gritty – we have some secrets we want to share.

If you employ domestic employees in the state of Illinois, there is a new law that has recently been enacted that will protect domestic workers from employer discrimination. The changes will be enacted starting January 1, 2017 and are important for employers to take note of.

Saving for retirement is incredibly important, but recent reports show that saving for the senior citizen years is even more important, simply because the cost of aging is steadily on the rise. According to a recent industry survey, the median annual bill for a private nursing room is over $91,000, with some states costing over $150,000 a year and even more. Marked price increases are occurring at assisted living facilities as well, and costs for home health care and adult day health care are increasing, too.

Household employers are faced with a variety of tasks and deadlines and staying on top of changing dates and policies is an important part of successfully managing your household payroll. It’s imperative that household employers meet all local, state, and federal guidelines and deadlines.

As an employer, you are required to offer fair compensation to your nanny and that means coming up with a pay rate and schedule that is disbursed on an hourly, weekly, or bi-weekly basis. If you’ve never had a household employee and you’re unsure of what laws or other requirements surround the issue of salaries and paying your nanny, it’s okay – it’s normal to be a bit confused at first!

When you think about taxes, how do you feel? Do you feel a surge of dread or an overwhelming sense of confusion? It’s normal to feel this way because let’s face it, reporting nanny taxes can get complicated.

 

The historic 2016 US Presidential Election will bring sweeping change to Washington DC, and an expected 4,500 jobs will be staffed by the incoming president in the next two months as he establishes his team. The Presidential Transition Team is already vetting nominees for Cabinet positions and political appointees in various senior-level agency and ambassadorial posts.

If you are being considered for any of these positions, you’ll be required to answer questionnaires as part of the vetting process that includes references to household employment and the “nanny tax”. Questions might be something like:

Your nanny has worked hard for you all year and you may be wondering if a year-end bonus is warranted. You ask around the office and the answers are all over the place. While a clear majority of nanny employers provide additional compensation or paid time off at the end of the year, many families like you are uncertain about what is customary. 

The annual year end bonues a great opportunity to show your nanny that you appreciate everything that she has done to go above and beyond her regular duties. While an end of year bonus is not required, to your nanny a gift of recognition is always appreciated.