House cleaners, nannies and caregivers hurt at work

If a family hired you to clean, cook, garden, or take care of their kids or their parents, and you got hurt doing it, California workers' compensation may cover you. The law treats household workers as employees. The question is whether you worked enough hours, and earned enough, for that particular household.

The two numbers that decide it

Labor Code section 3351(d) counts people hired by the owner or occupant of a home to do household work as employees, and that includes taking care of children. Section 3352(a)(8) carves out one exception. You're not covered by that household if, in the 90 calendar days before you got hurt, either of these is true:

• you worked fewer than 52 hours for them, or
• they paid you $100 or less.

Either one alone is enough to knock you out. Flip it around: 52 hours or more and more than $100 from that family in those 90 days, and you're likely covered.

Sources: California Labor Code § 3351, § 3352.

Counting it out

Say you clean one house every week, six hours a visit, $150 each time. Over 90 days that's about 78 hours and far more than $100, so you're likely covered. A nanny working 40 hours a week for one family passes 52 hours partway through the second week. Someone who helped out on a single one-day job usually won't qualify with that household.

Each household is counted on its own. If you clean five homes, each family is a separate count. It gets tangled fast, so tell us your schedule and what you were paid and we'll work it out with you.

Paid in cash, by Zelle, or by text

Most household work isn't on a payroll, which is why proving your hours matters so much. Texts about your schedule, payment-app history, checks, a calendar you kept yourself, a neighbor or another worker who saw you there every week: all of it helps. Save it now. Messages get deleted and phones get replaced.

You can reach our office at (323) 656-9040.

Placed by an agency?

If a home care or cleaning agency sent you, the agency may be your employer. Then its workers' comp insurance should cover you, no matter how many hours you spent at any one house. Report the injury to the agency in writing.

After you get hurt in someone else's home

Tell the family, or the agency, in writing. A text works. You have 30 days under the law, but do it now. Ask for a workers' compensation claim form, the DWC-1; an employer has one working day to give you one after learning about the injury. Get medical care and tell the doctor it happened at work. Then keep collecting proof of your hours and pay.

You generally have one year to file with the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, counted from the injury or the last benefit you were paid. If you're not sure you qualify, call before that runs out, not after. Our guide on filing a workers' comp claim walks through the form.

A lot of household workers are afraid asking for benefits will cause immigration trouble. California covers workers "whether lawfully or unlawfully employed" (Labor Code section 3351), and section 1171.5 makes state-law protections available regardless of status. Your papers aren't part of this conversation.

Sources: California Labor Code § 5400, § 5401, § 5405, § 1171.5.

What usually goes wrong in a house

Backs from lifting kids, laundry baskets, furniture, or an elderly parent who's falling. Falls off step stools and ladders while cleaning, or on wet stairs. Wrists, shoulders and knees worn down by scrubbing, which can be covered as repetitive stress injuries. Rashes and breathing problems from cleaning products (see exposure to harmful substances). Cuts, burns, and the family dog.

If you're covered, the insurer pays for medical treatment, temporary disability of about two-thirds of your average weekly wage while you can't work, and permanent disability if the injury leaves lasting limits.

¿Limpia casas o cuida niños o personas mayores y se lastimó trabajando? Puede tener derecho a compensación laboral. Llame al (323) 656-9040.

"The family says it's not their problem"

A disagreement about an injury can put a personal working relationship under strain. Coverage depends on the hours and pay rules above, not on what anyone believes. You don't have to argue with them. We can find out whether there's insurance and how the claim should be handled.

Worried about your job after reporting an injury? Read our guide to retaliation for filing a claim, or ask about that concern when you call.