Congress is debating Immigration Reform, legislation that would establish a path to citizenship for the about eleven million undocumented workers living and working in the shadows today, bypassing tax law obligations.  A good portion of these are employed as household workers such as nannies, housekeepers and senior caregivers. 

Going on vacation?  Visiting the family?  If you are ready to hit the road with your child and you are taking you nanny with you, allow us to share these helpful tips to avoid any misunderstanding, uncomfortable situations and make your trip a complete success!

Today I woke up with the song “I believe I could fly” in my head.  I could not associate this phrase with anything other than the feeling a child has for their dad, their first super hero.  That person who makes the impossible … possible!  When talking about dad, I don’t just refer to our biological dad; but to all male figures that influence and make a difference in a child’s life.  Father figures can include fathers, step-fathers, fathers-in-law, grandfathers and great-grandfathers and even other male relatives.  I am talking about that powerful man, able to solve and fix every broken thing around the house, and even, the entire world!

Did you know that household employers are not legally obligated to pay for ANY holidays or time off to their employees*?  It is entirely up to the employer to decide if such a benefit will be offered or not.  Clearly this is something that should be discussed when interviewing, and memorialized in a written work agreement. We know from experience this is a big concern for household employees. In some situations, applicants will even choose one job over another based on the holiday and paid time off in the job offer.

We read with interest this wonderful article about when families with an aged elder family member in the household hit the crossroads - the elder needs more care and attention than the family caregivers can provide and keep their own sanity.

A majority of American wage earners live paycheck to paycheck.  We start dividing our take home pay between mortgage or rent, water, phone, electric, internet, XYZ bills, and those little cravings such as Starbucks, the movies or that new outfit at the mall as soon as we receive our pay.  Before you know it, our salary is gone and we wait anxiously for the next pay day.  While we know our current earnings are not guaranteed to keep coming in forever, neither in the frequency or amount, we fail to make provisions for that ‘rainy day.’ American’s on average save only 2.7 cents from every dollar we earn! 

Household employees, including nannies, follow this familiar pattern all the time. Scary, right?  Nanny and other caregiving jobs are temporary in most situations.  The child will grow up and the nanny is no longer needed.  This is the nature of the nanny’s business, with some exceptions, of course.

California's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, AB 241, was significantly amended on May 28. This is important for household employers, as the mandatory off duty meal break provision and mandatory paid vacation/time off provisions were stricken from the bill.

Protecting Employee Personally Identifiable Information

Household employers have legitimate needs to collect and maintain their household employee’s confidential data.  All employers, and their agents, are legally responsible to protect this information and prevent its access by unauthorized individuals.

Efforts at the state level to write and pass legislation to increase the legal rights and protections of domestic service workers - nannies, elder caregivers, housekeepers and others - have increased dramatically in recent months.