Nannycare is expensive, and families often wonder, shouldn't we just find a good daycare? HomeWork Solutions reached out to Marc Lenes, the owner of Wee Care Nanny Agency, a household staffing agency founded in 2001 and based in Stamford, CT to make the case for nannycare. Marc has many years of experience talking families through the various childcare options.

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.