How much overtime do you owe a caregiver this week?

Do home care agencies have to pay overtime right now?

Under federal law, yes. The Fair Labor Standards Act exempts companionship workers from minimum wage and overtime, and live-in domestic workers from overtime. Since 2015 the Department of Labor's Home Care Rule has barred third-party employers, such as home care agencies, from claiming either exemption, even when the family could (29 CFR 552.109). So an agency owes its caregivers time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek.

That rule may change. On July 2, 2025 the Department of Labor proposed returning to the 1975 rules, which would let agencies claim both exemptions again. On July 25, 2025 it told investigators to stop enforcing the 2015 rule against agencies until a final rule takes effect (Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-4). As of October 28, 2026 no final rule has been published; the department's regulatory agenda targets November 2026. The 2015 rule is still in the regulations, caregivers can still sue under it, and state overtime laws are not affected. Most agencies keep paying overtime.

Which states require overtime for agency caregivers under their own law?

If the federal exemptions come back, state law decides. These states require overtime for caregivers employed by an agency under their own law, with the limits shown in the table above: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The other states either have no overtime law of their own, adopt the federal exemptions, or exclude employers the federal law covers, so the federal rule decides. The law is unclear in Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii and Vermont; ask an employment lawyer there before you stop paying overtime.

What counts toward the 40 hours?

Overtime is counted per workweek, a fixed and recurring 168-hour period you choose, such as Sunday to Saturday. You can't average two weeks: 50 hours one week and 30 the next is still 10 hours of overtime. Count every hour the caregiver works for you:

• All clients together. 30 hours with one client and 15 with another is 45 hours, and 5 of them are overtime.
• Travel between clients. Driving from one client to the next during the workday is hours worked (29 CFR 785.38). The commute to the first client and home from the last usually isn't.
• Required training and meetings. In-services, orientation and mandatory staff meetings are hours worked.

How is caregiver overtime calculated?

Overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate, not the base wage. Divide all straight-time pay for the week, including differentials, non-discretionary bonuses and travel pay, by all hours worked to get the regular rate. Then pay half the regular rate again for each overtime hour. Where a state also has daily overtime, hours over the daily limit are overtime too; the calculator counts whichever total is larger so hours aren't paid twice.

Can sleep time be unpaid on 24-hour and live-in shifts?

Only on shifts of 24 hours or more. The agency and caregiver can agree to exclude meal breaks and a regularly scheduled sleep period of up to 8 hours, if the home has adequate sleeping facilities and the caregiver can usually sleep through the night. Interruptions are paid, and if the caregiver can't get at least 5 hours of sleep the whole period is paid (29 CFR 785.22). For caregivers who live in the client's home, sleep, meal and free time can be excluded under a reasonable agreement, and interruptions are paid (29 CFR 552.102). On shorter shifts, all time on duty is paid.

Some states have their own sleep-time rules or say how the federal ones apply: Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oregon and Wisconsin. New York, for example, pays 13 hours for a 24-hour shift only when the aide gets 8 hours of sleep, 5 of them uninterrupted, and 3 hours of meal breaks.

What does this calculator leave out?

Seventh-day rules, double time, and split rates for different kinds of work need extra review. If a caregiver earns different rates at different clients, the regular rate is a weighted average of all of them. Check your state's labor department page, linked from each state page above, before you run payroll.

How Caregiver Scheduling handles this

Timesheets built from geofenced clock-ins and clock-outs are coming soon, with overtime flagged for review before payroll runs and approved hours exported to QuickBooks. See what’s coming for timesheets and payroll.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Labor, Home Care (direct care workers) rule
• 29 CFR 552.109, third-party employment
• 29 CFR 552.102, live-in domestic service employees
• 29 CFR 785.22, duty of 24 hours or more
• DOL Field Assistance Bulletins, including FAB 2025-4 Home Care Enforcement Guidance (July 25, 2025)
• 29 CFR 785.38, travel that is part of the day’s work
• Federal Register, July 2, 2025 proposed rule on domestic service
• U.S. Department of Labor, state minimum wage and overtime laws
• Each state page lists the statutes and labor department pages it is based on.