When the law was passed, it was estimated that 200,000 domestic workers were employed in New York City and another 70,000 in the rest of the state. Many of them are exploited by their employers: they work long hours, earn less than they should and face discrimination. This situation is meant to be improved by the law known as the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which took effect in New York State on November 30, 2010. You can read about it on the website of the New York State Department of Labor: dol.ny.gov/domestic-workers-bill-rights
Who is covered by the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights?
The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights covers domestic workers, that is, people who work in other people’s homes.
These are workers who:
- care for children or elderly people: nannies, caregivers,
- keep up someone’s household: cleaners, housekeepers, cooks, home attendants,
- do other household work: gardeners, handymen, etc.
The law does not apply to casual workers, such as occasional babysitters, or to people who are related to the person they care for or to the person who hired them. The “relationship” may be by blood, marriage or adoption. The law does not cover people employed by agencies, because they are protected by other, similar regulations.
The law protects domestic workers regardless of their immigration status, which means that an undocumented immigrant has the same rights as a domestic worker as a native-born American. The only thing undocumented workers are not entitled to is unemployment benefits.
When the employer says you are a “companion”
The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights does not cover people who provide companionship services. This raises a question: is a “home attendant” a domestic worker (and therefore covered by the law) or not? Employers may argue that you are a “companion” and not pay you at least the minimum wage or overtime.
Under federal regulations, a “companion” is a worker who provides fellowship and protection to an elderly, sick or disabled person who cannot take care of himself or herself. Such services may include help with daily activities, provided that this help “does not exceed 20 percent of the total hours worked per consumer and per workweek.” See: 29 C.F.R. § 552.6 and 29 U.S.C. § 213(a)(15). The federal rules on this exemption change from time to time, so it is worth checking the current information on the website of the U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov).
An important ruling for “home attendants” is a New York court decision: Settlement Home Care, Inc. v. Industrial Bd. of Appeals of Dept. of Labor, 542 N.Y.S.2d 346, 348 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1989). The court found that live-in attendants who provide a variety of personal and household services – including bathing, grooming, feeding and dressing clients, shopping, housekeeping and laundry – for elderly clients are not considered “companions” and are not exempt from New York labor law, because although the attendants provide the clients with some measure of companionship, their primary duty is housekeeping. For this reason, the companionship is only a side effect of their presence in the client’s home. (Sleep-in home attendants who performed a variety of specific personal care and housekeeping services – including bathing, grooming, feeding and dressing the clients, shopping, housekeeping, and doing laundry – for their elderly clientele were not within the companionship exemption of the New York Labor Law because, “although [the] attendants [did] provide some measure of companionship to the clients,” the attendants primary duties included housekeeping; therefore, any companionship was merely incidental to the attendant’s presence in the clients’ homes).
In short, New York’s Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights covers housekeepers, caregivers for children and the elderly, and attendants employed in someone’s residence by a family (and not by an agency).
Employers’ obligations
Here are the obligations of employers who hire domestic workers in New York State. They must:
- Pay at least the state minimum wage – in 2026, $17.00 an hour in New York City, on Long Island and in Westchester County, and $16.00 in the rest of the state.
- Pay overtime after 40 hours for live-out workers and after 44 hours for workers who live in the employer’s home. Overtime is 1.5 times the regular hourly rate.
- Give at least one day off (24 hours) a week. If you agree to work that day, you must be paid overtime for it.
- Give at least three paid days off a year after a year of work for the same employer.
- Pay wages once a week.
- Not deduct any charges from your paycheck without your permission, except for withheld income taxes and contributions for Social Security, Medicare and health insurance.
- Buy unemployment insurance and temporary disability insurance for you, which also includes Paid Family Leave.
- Provide sick days in accordance with the state paid sick leave law.
The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights also protects domestic workers against sexual harassment and various forms of discrimination. Previously, anti-discrimination rules applied only to workplaces with four employees.
When hiring you, the employer must give you the basic terms of your employment in writing: the expected number of working hours, your regular and overtime rates, how often you will be paid, and information about sick days, personal days, vacation and holidays. This notice must be in English and in your own language. You sign an acknowledgment that you received it, and the employer should keep it for at least six years.
If the worker works through an agency
Workers employed by agencies have long had full rights under New York Labor Law.
The Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights gave workers employed by families similar rights. Both groups of workers have similar protections, but they are guaranteed by different laws.
When the employer breaks the law
If your employer breaks the law, you should stand up for yourself by showing them the current regulations. Maybe they simply are not aware of them. If, however, they deliberately underpay you or violate your rights in some other way, you can sue them in court.
It is worth knowing that New York State law allows you to claim unpaid wages and overtime going back up to six years (unlike the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, under which claims expire after 2 years, or after 3 years in the case of a willful violation). State and federal law allow you to seek liquidated damages (for example, double wages), reimbursement of legal costs and penalties. Employers prefer to settle with workers rather than embarrass themselves in court. One example is the housekeeper of the well-known actor Robert De Niro, who claimed unpaid overtime and received $30,000 in a settlement after nine months of work in 2006–2007.
You can file a complaint against your employer with the Division of Labor Standards of the New York State Department of Labor at 1-888-52-LABOR (1-888-525-2267) or at a local office of the department. Here are the addresses of the offices in the New York City area:
New York City
55 Hanson Place, 11th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11217
tel. 212-775-3880
This office serves New York City
Garden City
400 Oak Street, Suite 102, Garden City, NY 11530
tel. 516-794-8195
This office serves Nassau and Suffolk counties
You can find the addresses of offices in other parts of the state here: dol.ny.gov/location/contact-division-labor-standards
More information: dol.ny.gov/facts-employers-domestic-workers
Domestic workers’ rights in other states
California also has a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. See: dir.ca.gov/dlse/DomesticWorkerBillOfRights.html
If you live in Illinois, be aware that the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights Act has been in effect there since January 1, 2017.
The rules protecting domestic workers vary from state to state. Search the internet for “domestic worker” plus the name of your state.
Elżbieta Baumgartner
Elżbieta Baumgartner is the author of many books on personal finance and consumer topics, including “Jak chować pieniądze przed fiskusem” (“How to Hide Money from the Taxman”), “Powrót do Polski” (“Returning to Poland”), “Amerykańskie emerytury” (“American Pensions”), “Emerytura reemigranta w Polsce” (“A Returning Emigrant’s Pension in Poland”), “Ubezpieczenie społeczne Social Security” (“Social Security”), “Otwieram biznes” (“Starting a Business”) and others. They are available in Polish-American bookstores and directly from the publisher: Poradnik Sukces, 255 Park Lane, Douglaston, NY 11363, tel. 1-718-224-3492. A list of these and many other guides is available online at: www.poradniksukces.com
Updated October 2026.
