California Household Employer Rules for Private Housekeepers
If you pay a housekeeper directly in California, you are almost always their employer, and state law treats a private home as a workplace. The core rules come from IWC Wage Order 15 (household occupations), the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights in the Labor Code, state paid sick leave, workers' compensation and, since July 2025, Cal/OSHA. Most families who run into trouble did not ignore these rules on purpose; they simply never set up the household the way a business would.
This is a general overview for homeowners, estate managers and family offices, not legal or tax advice. The agencies named below publish current figures.
Employee or contractor: the first question
California uses the ABC test for most employment questions. A housekeeper who cleans on your schedule, in your home, using your standards and your supplies, and who does not run an independent cleaning business serving the public, is an employee. Calling the arrangement "contract work" or paying through an app does not change that.
The picture is different when you hire a company that employs the housekeeper and bills you for the service. In that case the company is the employer of record and carries payroll, insurance and wage obligations. When a household works with any provider, it is worth asking in writing who the legal employer is, because a referral or placement agency that only introduces a candidate usually leaves the family as the employer.
Wage Order 15 sets the baseline
Wage Order 15 is the regulation that covers people employed in private households: housekeepers, house managers, cooks, butlers, nannies and similar roles. It splits workers into two groups, and the rules differ sharply between them.
Housekeepers who live out
For a housekeeper who goes home at the end of the day, overtime works the same way it does in most California jobs:
- time and a half after 8 hours in a workday or 40 hours in a workweek
- double time after 12 hours in a workday
- premium pay on the seventh consecutive day of work in a workweek
Rest breaks (10 paid minutes for every four hours worked) and an unpaid 30 minute meal period for shifts over five hours also apply. A housekeeper who eats lunch while watching the door for a delivery is not on a duty free meal period.
Live-in housekeepers
Live-in staff follow a different schedule structure under the same wage order. In each 24 hour workday, a live-in employee must have at least 12 consecutive hours off duty, plus at least three hours off duty within the 12 hour span of work. Work beyond five days in a workweek, or during the scheduled off duty hours, is paid at time and a half.
Lodging and meals can be credited toward minimum wage only within the caps the wage order sets and only with a voluntary written agreement. Families sometimes assume a guest suite covers part of the salary automatically. It does not.
The Domestic Worker Bill of Rights
California's Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, made permanent in 2016, added overtime protection for "personal attendants": workers whose main job is supervising, feeding or dressing a child, or a person who needs supervision because of age or disability. Personal attendants earn time and a half after 9 hours in a workday or 45 hours in a workweek.
This matters for housekeepers because the classification depends on how the day is actually spent. If a personal attendant spends more than 20 percent of their working time on other duties, such as cleaning the house, laundry or meal preparation for the family, they are no longer a personal attendant under the law. They fall back under the regular Wage Order 15 overtime rules above. A nanny who also keeps the house usually ends up on the 8 hour daily rule, not the 9 hour one.
Minimum wage, local ordinances and pay records
The statewide minimum wage for 2026 is $16.90 an hour, and many cities set their own higher floor, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, West Hollywood and several Bay Area cities. Local ordinances generally follow the location of the work, so a housekeeper splitting time between a Brentwood residence and a Malibu house may be under two different rates.
Two records are required for every household employee:
- A written wage notice at hire under the Wage Theft Prevention Act (Labor Code section 2810.5), listing the rate, pay day, employer name and address, and the workers' compensation carrier.
- An itemized wage statement each pay day (Labor Code section 226) showing hours, rates, gross and net pay and deductions.
Paid sick leave
California paid sick leave covers domestic workers. Since 2024 the law requires at least 40 hours or five days of paid sick leave per year, whether through accrual or a front loaded grant at the start of the year. Many households fold this into a broader paid time off policy, which is fine as long as the policy meets or exceeds the sick leave minimums and is written down.
Workers' compensation and payroll registration
California homeowner's policies are required to include workers' compensation coverage for residence employees. Coverage applies to household workers who, in the 90 days before an injury, worked at least 52 hours and earned at least $100. A full-time or regular part-time housekeeper clears that threshold quickly.
Condo policies and houses held by a trust or LLC may be written differently, and larger staffs often need a standalone workers' compensation policy, so the wording should be checked against the actual staffing.
On the payroll side, a household that pays $750 or more in cash wages in a calendar quarter must register with the California Employment Development Department as a household employer and report wages for unemployment and disability insurance. Federal household employment taxes (Schedule H, Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment) run alongside, and many families hand all of this to a household payroll service.
Cal/OSHA now reaches the household
For decades, household domestic service was excluded from Cal/OSHA. SB 1350, signed in 2024, removed that exclusion starting July 1, 2025. In practical terms, a private home that employs a housekeeper now carries workplace safety duties: hazardous cleaning products, ladders and high dusting, heavy lifting, heat exposure in outdoor or poorly ventilated areas, and any equipment the household provides.
Cal/OSHA publishes guidance for household employers. For many estates, the easiest step is a short written safety note: approved products, where they are stored, and which tasks need a second person.
A practical setup for a compliant household
Households that rarely have problems tend to:
- Decide who the employer is, in writing.
- Write a job description with real hours, duties and whether the role is live-in.
- Track hours, even for salaried staff, so overtime and live-in off duty time can be shown.
- Run payroll through a household payroll provider with state and federal registration.
- Confirm workers' compensation coverage matches the actual staff and properties.
- Keep the sick leave policy, wage notice and safety note in one file.
If you are staffing a California residence and want help defining the role, our live-in housekeeper service page explains how dedicated and live-in arrangements are structured, and the Los Angeles service page covers the area we serve there.
Frequently asked questions
Does a live-in housekeeper in California get overtime?
Yes. Under Wage Order 15, a live-in housekeeper must get 12 consecutive hours off in each 24 hour day and three hours off during the working span. Work during those off duty hours, or on a sixth or seventh day in the workweek, is paid at time and a half.
Is a nanny who also cleans covered by the Domestic Worker Bill of Rights?
Only if the cleaning and other non-care work stays at or below 20 percent of working time. Above that, the worker is not a personal attendant and the regular household overtime rules apply, which start after 8 hours in a day rather than 9.
Does homeowner's insurance cover a housekeeper who gets hurt?
California requires homeowner's policies to include workers' compensation for residence employees who meet the 52 hour and $100 threshold in the prior 90 days. Larger staffs, homes held in trusts or LLCs, and condo policies should be reviewed with the broker, since the built in coverage may not fit the household.
Do household employers in California have Cal/OSHA obligations?
Since July 1, 2025, household domestic service is no longer excluded from Cal/OSHA. Families who employ housekeepers directly now have workplace safety duties in the home, and Cal/OSHA publishes guidance aimed specifically at household employers.
Planning a California household staff
Tell us about the residence, the hours you have in mind and whether the role is live-in, and we will follow up in writing with how we would structure it. Request a consultation.