Is Disability and Paid Family Leave Benefits Coverage Required?
"Household employers" include homeowners who hire certain types of casual labor and domestic workers.
Casual Labor
- Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits coverage is not required for individuals, including minors, doing yard work or occasional chores in and around a one-family, owner-occupied dwelling.
- Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits coverage is required if the chores or jobs are regularly scheduled for 30 or more days in a calendar year.
Domestic Workers
Domestic workers include chauffeurs, nannies, home health aides, nurses, babysitters, au pairs, maids, cooks, housekeepers, laundry workers, butlers, companions, and gardeners working in a private household (12 NYCRR §355).
- Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits coverage is required if the domestic worker is employed 20 or more hours per week by the same employer (including full-time sitters or companions, and live-in maids) and they work 30 or more days in a calendar year for that employer. Time spent at the residence including sleeping and eating and any additional time spent off premises running errands and performing other duties for the employer, count towards the total hours worked per week. Also included in the calculation of hours worked per week are all hours where the employer requires the domestic worker's presence. For example, if the employer goes away for two full days and requires the domestic worker's presence, this counts as 48 hours worked.
- Disability and Paid Family Leave benefits coverage is not required if the only people who work for the household are domestic workers in a private household who individually work less than 20 hours per week for that household and do not live on premises.