[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR552.102]

[Page 275-276]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
         CHAPTER V--WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
 
PART 552_APPLICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT TO DOMESTIC SERVICE
--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart B_Interpretations
 
Sec. 552.102  Live-in domestic service employees.

    (a) Domestic service employees who reside in the household where 
they are

[[Page 276]]

employed are entitled to the same minimum wage as domestic service 
employees who work by the day. However, section 13(b)(21) provides an 
exemption from the Act's overtime requirements for domestic service 
employees who reside in the household where employed. But this exemption 
does not excuse the employer from paying the live-in worker at the 
applicable minimum wage rate for all hours worked. In determining the 
number of hours worked by a live-in worker, the employee and the 
employer may exclude, by agreement between themselves, the amount of 
sleeping time, meal time and other periods of complete freedom from all 
duties when the employee may either leave the premises or stay on the 
premises for purely personal pursuits. For periods of free time (other 
than those relating to meals and sleeping) to be excluded from hours 
worked, the periods must be of sufficient duration to enable the 
employee to make effective use of the time. If the sleeping time, meal 
periods or other periods of free time are interrupted by a call to duty, 
the interruption must be counted as hours worked. See regulations part 
785, Sec. 785.23.
    (b) Where there is a reasonable agreement, as indicated in (a) 
above, it may be used to establish the employee's hours of work in lieu 
of maintaining precise records of the hours actually worked. The 
employer shall keep a copy of the agreement and indicate that the 
employee's work time generally coincides with the agreement. If it is 
found by the parties that there is a significant deviation from the 
initial agreement, a separate record should be kept for that period or a 
new agreement should be reached that reflects the actual facts.