California In-Home Caregiver

If you are employed as a 24-hour caregiver, providing care to an individual inside their home, you are likely entitled to overtime compensation. If you are paid a day rate, you are not receiving overtime and likely have a valuable claim. This is true whether you are hired directly by the patient or paid though an agency. Most in-home caregivers are entitled to receive overtime payments for all hours worked in excess of 9 in a day or 45 in a week.

Starting in January 2024, most 24-hour caregivers must be paid a minimum of $504.00 per day to comply with California law. The first 9 hours of work can be paid at California’s minimum wage of $16.00, for $144.00. Then, California law requires overtime payments of $24.00 per hour for the remaining 15 hours, for an additional $360.00.

Most caregivers receive far less than that, often earning as little as $200 to $350 per day. A 24-hour caregiver who is earning less than $504.00 per day likely has a very valuable claim. Caregivers working in cities with higher minimum wage laws must be paid at the applicable minimum wage.

For example, if you are a caregiver working 24-hours a day, 5 days a week, for a day rate of $270 a day, your weekly unpaid overtime claim is calculated as follows: Your daily salary of $270 is divided by 9 hours to calculate a regular rate of $30.00 an hour. Your overtime rate is 1.5 times your regular rate, $45.00 an hour.

Your salary does not pay for any of the 15 daily overtime hours you work. So, each day you have an unpaid overtime claim of $675. (15 hours times $45 an hour) Liquidated damages for a willful failure to pay overtime could add an additional $240.00 a day to the claim. (15 hours times $16.00 an hour) Plus, the law provides for interest, attorneys fees, and penalties.

In the above example, the hypothetical caregiver is owed $3,375 per week in unpaid overtime alone. On a yearly basis, the overtime claim exceeds $175,000. That amount does not include liquidated damages, penalties or interest. We have helped many caregivers whose claims exceed $500,000 in potential damages when working several years.

Caregivers can potentially file claims going back 4 years from the date a lawsuit is filed. With court closures due to Covid, claims may extend back even further. We have helped many caregivers file claims against their former employers. Even if you last worked in 2021, you still may have time to pursue a claim if your employer is still living.

If you are a caregiver and are hesitant to move forward with a claim, please visit our website at www.caregiverovertime.com/concerns to review our article that addresses many of the common concerns we have heard from caregivers.

If you are a caregiver working 24-hour shifts and are receiving less than $504.00 per day, we want to talk with you about your legal rights. We provide compassionate and confidential consultations. Please Call Or Text - (805) 807-4108 for Kevin Rehwald, and (805) 807-4110 for Lauren Peterson for a free and confidential consultation.

This article is an attorney advertisement written by Kevin Rehwald, employment law attorney at Rehwald Peterson in Westlake Village, CA. Our examples are of a general nature and are not a guarantee regarding the outcome of your individual matter. The law firm focuses on caregiver rights. Please Call Or Text - (805) 807-4108 for Kevin Rehwald, and (805) 807-4110 for Lauren Peterson for a free and confidential consultation. Or visit us at www.caregiverovertime.com/ to learn more about caregiver overtime law. We offer a 24-hour chat line on our website.