Many families have children heading back to school this month. It is not uncommon for a nanny who cares for both an elementary school child and a pre-schooler or younger to negotiate two different hourly rates - one for one child only, the other for both. The puzzle for many nanny employers is how to calculate the correct overtime rate. Legally, the "regular rate of pay," that which is used to calculate the overtime differential, must be at least the weighed average of all rates used in the work week. Here is an example:

When hiring their nanny, most employers believe that they have recruited the perfect caregiver for their child. Most often, they want be fair in their dealing with their nanny, including in the arena of compensation. However, year after year a small suite of common nanny payroll and legal mistakes become very expensive lessons for these nanny employers.

Workers' Compensation Insurance protects the employer from liability for medical expenses and lost wages when an employee is injured "on the job." A recent news story concerning a Chicago nanny who was struck by a vehicle while walking her charge brings to light the awesome risk that nanny employers run when they don't obtain state required workers compensation insurance.

Twenty three states require that household (nanny) employers maintain Workers' Compensation Insurance policies. Commercial insurers are a good place to start, as this is business or commercial insurance. GEICO and USAA do not offer business insurance. Bear in mind that the broker/agent who helps you secure a policy will generally require you to have other insurance such as homeowners, renters or automobile insurance with them to issue the workers' compensation policy. Where the insurance is legally mandated, a state fund exists as the provider of last resort. This is typically the most expensive method of obtaining coverage, as the fund must insure all applicants, regardless of risk.

US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) has introduced S.770 - Payroll Fraud Prevention Act. The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to ensure that employees are not misclassified as non-employees, and impose substantial penalties on employers who are found to have classified bona fide employees as independent contractors for purposes of avoiding payroll taxes. The bill is referred to the Senate's Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Infant day care slots are in short supply, and when available they are very expensive. Here in greater Washington DC it is common to pay $2000 a month or more for infant day care.

Summer is coming. I count the days until I can wear flip flops, have some daylight at the end of my work day, and am already day dreaming about a summer vacation. Most of us anticipate summer.  Many nannies, however, dread the coming summer months. Why?

Note: Special thanks to our guest blogger, Bob King, for his discussion below on nanny employment termination and the return of family property.  Bob is an attorney and founder of Legally Nanny, the leading law firm providing legal and tax advice to household employers.

Many families (and agencies) use nanny work agreements that cover a specific period of time, generally one year. This is NOT a good idea. In a complicated United States District Court, D. Oregon case, the court affirmed that nannies are indeed non-exempt employees and are entitled to hourly pay and overtime pay for hours worked in excess of 40 in a work week.  

Nannies and senior home-care workers are not independent contractors.

 “Most workers [who are classified as independent contractors] are employees under the FLSA’s broad definitions.” ~ David Weil, Administrator, US Department of Labor Wage and Hour

Nannies and senior home caregivers are almost always employees of the hiring family, yet every year thousands of families classify their nanny or senior caregiver as an "independent contractor" and fail to pay the employment taxes and unemployment taxes on the wage they pay their family's nanny.The IRS estimates that fewer than one in five famlies with a household employee comply with the payroll, tax, and reporting requirements in the tax code. Industry experts place the compliance rate much lower than 20%, and have calculated a $3 BILLION dollar per year tax gap - the taxes owed but not collected on household senior homecare and nanny employment.