Occasionally a nanny or other household employee will find themselves in a dispute with an employer, generally a former employer, over unpaid wages. Whether this be overtime that wasn’t properly compensated, failure to meet minimum wage or final wages that were not paid, there exists in every state a mechanism to file an unpaid wage claim and have the state’s Department of Labor Wage and Hour office intervene on his or her behalf. These avenues should be pursued AFTER direct attempts to resolve the situation with the employer have failed.

HomeWork Solutions' co-founder Kathy Webb recently participated in a nanny educational program focused around legal nanny payroll. In the course of discussions, attendees were anxious for some concrete examples on how the negotiation of pre-tax benefits for health insurance reimbursement and professional development  could be cost neutral to a family and a big win for the nanny.

You are going to hire a nanny or senior caregiver soon. You know that interviewing can be tricky, and don't want to make a mistake in this important activity. Before you begin advertising, narrowing down your candidates and starting the interview process, it is important to do some research on what proper protocol is for what questions you can ask and what is taboo. Here are some helpful caregiver interview tips.

Is your to-do list getting longer and longer and does it seem like your demands from day to day just never end? We get it. Sometimes there simply isn’t enough time to keep on top of everything.

Our client Nancy M. came to us with an issue regarding prior cash payments to her mother's caregiver and filing proper tax paperwork.

Every year HomeWork Solutions prepares a "what's new or changed" roundup of household employment tax laws and benefit information.

HOUSEHOLD EMPLOYEE 2019 WAGE BASE:

The IRS annually reviews, and adjusts as necessary, the wage payment threshold that obligates a family to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes and issue employees W-2 forms. This threshold remains at $2100 of wages in a year for 2019.

You live an active lifestyle and sometimes weather emergencies throw you for a loop. No one likes to be inconvenienced and when it comes to weather issues, it can be stressful and frustrating – especially if it means that your nanny or caregiver cannot come to work. Whether it’s a tropical storm or a pileup of snow overnight, if you plan ahead for weather emergencies, you can minimize the headache. Here are some tips that can help.

The laundry is piling up, the dust bunnies are accumulating around the house, you have 2 soccer games to be at this weekend with your kids, and all you can think about is the mound of dishes in the sink that needs to be tackled. Life gets busy and sometimes it is so busy that we just don’t have the time to do what we need to do to keep on top of housecleaning. So you might be asking yourself, "Should I get a housekeeper?"

More and more we’re seeing employers asking about how to help employees with health insurance. That’s great! Just how to go about doing it is where things get confusing. In this post we’ll lay out the landscape as we see it and how we go about consulting clients on healthcare for their employee(s).

Life is busy and adding children into the mix just makes things even more busy. Parents are working, running kids to soccer practice or music lessons, and finding a way to “do it all” its sometimes easier said than done. If you’ve found yourself feeling overwhelmed with the day-to-day activities of running kids to daycare before work, then rushing back to get them before going to the next to-do, it may be time to find a better plan. A nanny very well could be the answer. And once you’ve found the balance, your whole family will feel stronger. Here’s how.