A common question families ask when they’re hiring a caregiver is how often people get caught who aren’t following tax, payroll or labor laws. Well, just recently, on January 31, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office announced that Brookline resident, Amit Kanodia, must pay nearly $27,000 in fines and penalties related to how he treated his domestic worker. In total, there were seven violations found in the Attorney General’s investigation:
- Failing to pay at least the state minimum wage of $14.25 per hour.
- Failing to pay overtime.
- Failing to pay the caregiver’s wages on time.
- Failing to provide earned sick time.
- Failing to comply with the Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights.
- Failing to keep accurate and true payroll records.
- Failing to provide payroll records to the Attorney General’s office.
Background of the investigation
According to the press release, Kanodia hired a live-in caregiver to take care of his parents and also clean his home. The caregiver worked 18-hour days and sometimes had to purchase groceries using her own money. Eventually, the caregiver was fired from her job after asking for time off and filed a wage dispute with the state.
Why this ruling matters
“This judgment is important for both families and caregivers because it shows that states are paying attention to how household employees are being treated,” says Tom Breedlove, Sr. Director of Care.com HomePay. “Any wage dispute that is filed by a current or former employee will almost always be investigated.”
While some of the violations against Mr. Kanodia were specific to laws in Massachusetts, the errors in not paying minimum wage or overtime and not paying his caregiver on time would be against federal wage and hour laws in every state. The statute of limitations is usually two or three years for an employee to file a complaint against their employer so it’s possible that a legal issue could come up long after a caregiver leaves.
How families and caregivers can prevent this from happening
The easiest way to keep any wage or labor law dispute from cropping up is to have an employment contract in place. It should include things like hourly rate of pay, overtime rate of pay, when paydays occur, how much time off is provided, what the expected job duties are and other important aspects of the position.
Additionally, a consultation with a household employment expert like HomePay is a great way to double check that everything is being done correctly before work begins. And if you want even more peace of mind, we can take care of the payroll and household employment tax filing processes so you never have to worry about making an honest mistake.
