Compliance
Home Care Overtime Rules: What Agencies Owe Caregivers
Since 2015, home care agencies must pay caregivers overtime after 40 hours in a workweek. How the rule works, what counts as hours worked, and which states add daily overtime.
Maryland overtime rules for home care workers
Last verified October 28, 2026 · All Maryland resources
In Maryland, overtime is time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek. The state minimum wage is $15.00 an hour. The federal Home Care Rule bars agencies from the companionship and live-in exemptions, though the Department of Labor stopped enforcing it against agencies in July 2025 while it considers undoing it. Maryland's own law also requires overtime for agency caregivers, so they would still be owed it if the federal rule is undone.
What are Maryland's overtime and minimum wage rules?
| Minimum wage | $15.00 an hour |
|---|---|
| Weekly overtime | After 40 hours |
| Daily overtime | None |
Does Maryland law require overtime for agency caregivers?
Yes. Maryland requires 1.5 times the usual hourly wage after 40 hours (Lab. & Empl. 3-415 and 3-420), and neither its general exemptions nor its overtime exemptions mention companions, domestic workers, live-ins or home care, or borrow the federal exemptions.
Does Maryland have special rules for home care workers?
The exemption list in the Maryland Wage and Hour Law (Labor and Employment 3-403) contains no exemption for domestic service, companionship or live-in workers; immediate family members of the employer are exempt.
Calculate a week of overtime in Maryland
Preset with Maryland's daily overtime rule. Enter each day's hours across all clients.
Checking the whole roster? Open Overtime watch for Maryland →
More for Maryland
Overtime rules by state: other states
Related guides
Compliance
Do Home Care Agencies Have to Pay Caregivers Overtime?
Yes. Since January 1, 2015, agencies cannot use the companionship or live-in exemptions, so every caregiver gets time-and-a-half after 40 hours. Who is covered, what counts, and the 2025 proposal to change it.
Compliance
Which States Require Daily Overtime for Caregivers?
California, Alaska, Nevada and Colorado require overtime after a set number of hours in a day. What each rule says, with sources, and what it does to 10-, 12- and 24-hour shifts.
Compliance
Overtime for Caregivers Who Work for Two Clients in One Week
Hours for every client you assign a caregiver add up in one workweek. Over 40 is overtime at a weighted-average rate. How to calculate it and when a private family's hours count.
Compliance
Live-In Caregiver Pay: Sleep Time, Meal Breaks and the 24-Hour Rule
When an agency can exclude sleep and meal time from a live-in or 24-hour shift, what the written agreement must say, and what happens when sleep is interrupted.
These free tools are made by the team behind Caregiver Scheduling, caregiver scheduling software for home care agencies.
Simple pricing
From $199 /month
Up to 10 caregivers on Starter, 50 on Growth.
More than 50 caregivers? We'll put together a custom Scale plan for your agency.