In-home care providers support families but are employees

With increasingly busy schedules and demanding jobs, many families are turning to in-home care providers to support their needs.  Nannies and nanny share are becoming ever more popular as a source of childcare with a shortage in available options and the flexibility a nanny provides.  However, families seeking to capitalize on the convenience and flexibility of a nanny or other in-home care provider face challenges in ensuring they are meeting legal requirements for employees.Nannies and many in-home care providers are employees.  In other words, they are not exempt from the legal obligations any employer has to their employee.  They must be provided sick leave in accordance with local laws, state, and federal laws. In-home care providers must be afforded breaks and paid minimum wage and overtime.  Employers must comply with laws that require payment of taxes, unemployment, and L&I contributions. At first blush, an employee who provides childcare services may seem to be a casual relationship where the caregiver is more family than an employee.  However, these arrangements have the potential to result in complicated legal requirements because in many circumstances these individuals must be treated as employees.  For a family contemplating engaging an in-home care provider, the money spent to speak with an attorney prior to hiring an employee to formulate a contract and review legal requirements is a strong protective mechanism.  The benefit in following the law upfront not only guards against lawsuits in the future but ensures the parties will have a mutually acceptable understanding of requirements for both parties that follows the law. Another upside is that when the relationship ends, the likelihood of it ending poorly and resulting in a dispute is greatly reduced.  This mutual understanding and acceptance of the terms will foster a strong employment relationship without the potential for misunderstandings.