A federal district court ruled October 15, 2018 that a senior caregiver couple's unpaid overtime claim against the estate of their deceased employer may proceed.

Classifying a worker as an independent contractor frees a business or family from payroll tax liability and allows it to forgo providing overtime pay, unemployment compensation and other employee benefits. It also frees the business from responsibility for withholding income taxes and the worker’s share of payroll taxes – household employers can legally omit withholding even for an employee.

You’ve done your research and interviewed lots of potential candidates for your household employee position. Whether it’s a nanny, an in-home senior caregiver, or someone else that will work regularly in your home with you, making the decision to hire the right person can feel like a lot of pressure. And more than likely, you have questions on what your responsibilities are for paying taxes on your household employee.

You live a busy life and sometimes, you feel overwhelmed with the demands and tasks that continually pile up. If you’ve hired a household employee such as a nanny or senior caregiver and you simply don’t have the time to manage the payroll and make sure that all the taxes are being withheld properly, it may be time to consider a household payroll service.
There are many benefits to outsourcing. Here are some of the main reasons to consider delegating payroll to the professionals.

UPDATE MARCH 2019: The New York Court of Appeals upheld the NYS Department of Labor’s so-called 13 hour rule on March 26, 2019. This effectively reverses the two 2017 lower court rulings that invalidated the policy. The court specifically noted however that any negative impact on a specific shift - for example the interruption of sleep after less than 5 hours, invalidates the rule for that shift and all hours must be compensated. The burden of proof lies with the employer. 

 Imagine the frustration you would feel after working a stressful 24 hours straight, only to realize that you’re only being paid for 13 hours of that time. Home health aides in the state of New York have said ‘enough is enough’ and in May 2018, several of them as well as two nonprofit advocacy groups, sued the state’s Labor Department and the commissioner Roberta Reardon with the intention of throwing out the state’s emergency regulations that allow for this to happen. Their end goal: to be paid for every hour of a 24-hour work day.

A dementia caregiver has a huge role, and for families looking to finding the right person to support their family with a loved one living with dementia, it can feel like a daunting task. Working with dementia patients requires not only the caregiving basics of being kind and loving, but it also requires an additional skill set. Here are four essential caregiver qualities that you should look for when looking to hire someone to help take care of your loved one.

You’ve spent time searching for the right caregiver for your father or son and you’ve become used to having help around the home for your loved one. It appears as if everything is working out well. But then, the caregiver quits. Did something go wrong? You may feel anxiety when you first hear the news that your caregiver is leaving, but there are some practical things you can do that can help alleviate stress and help put you on the track toward finding another person to step in.

If you’re taking care of an elderly parent, you know how many things there are to juggle at once. Whether it’s cooking meals every day, paying income taxes, or running to doctor appointments, there are usually endless numbers of tasks that will accumulate from day to day and week to week. It is important to take care of yourself in the midst of taking care of your loved one. Family caregivers need help too, so here are some things you can outsource to simplify your life and have a better routine for caregiver self care.

Prior to the enactment of Obamacare ( Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act), household employers gave little thought to cost and regulation when it came to subsidizing a household employee's health insurance costs. The employee and employer simply negotiated a tax free reimbursement contribution, the employee purchased insurance, and the entire transaction took place under the government radar, perfectly legally.