ISO advice re nanny share minimum wage

[Anonymous]

Not typical at all, at least in DC. I don't know of any 2-children shares where the nanny makes more than $22. But I guess there are always outliers... maybe special needs children, an extraordinary nanny with unique skills, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a nanny working a share with 2 families (13mo old and 16 mo old). I generally charge $17-18 an hour for one family. In a share I charge $13 per family so essentially make $26 an hour. This is my third share and all have worked about the same. Working with 2 sets of parents makes the job a lot more difficult. It has a lot more to do with the 2 sets of parents and their expectations and schedules than the fact that there are more children.

I think a nanny who would normally make $17-$18 for one child can reasonably ask for $12-$13/child in a share. That is a significant discount on your normal rates. The issue I find, however, is that most families doing a share are doing so because they want something different than daycare but can't afford/don't want to pay for their own nanny. So if setting up a share is at its core about the money, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a family willing to pay you in a share what they could pay their own personal nanny. I have worked in a few shares and I find that most share families aren't trying to pay much more than they'd pay at a center (some are even so shysty they try to pay less than daycare rates).

[Anonymous]

Agree that most share families in my area are comparing the price to daycare and willing to pay a bit more than that but no where close to the amt they would pay for even a low end nanny by themselves.

[Anonymous]

MB here. we paid 16/hr gross for 50hrs a week, and yes, the numbers were similar. it was legal.

to all others, we had a fabulous nanny for that rate. I personally wouldn't pay more than $10/hr for a share and that too it would be for a fabulous nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's legal. Minimum wage is the minimum wage an employee must be paid. The number of employers is irrelevant. Your contract with the nanny needs to document the wage she will get hourly. It does not need to document who is paying what.

Of course, you should document the rate she will get if she is only watching one child. Even if that rate is the same as for two children. It cant legally (or reasonablely!) just be half.

+1

[Anonymous]

OP it's legal.

PS: These are the kind've questions you should ask lawyers/attorneys (there are websites for this) because many will give incorrect answers on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how it would be legal. In the eyes of the law you are each her employers individually, hence both parties having their own EIN and filing your own taxes. I would think you are both also required to pay at least minimum wage.

This is correct. Uncle Sam doesn't care about what your girlfriend is paying her. The government is looking at YOUR payment history, not your friend's, and how it adds up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how it would be legal. In the eyes of the law you are each her employers individually, hence both parties having their own EIN and filing your own taxes. I would think you are both also required to pay at least minimum wage.

This is correct. Uncle Sam doesn't care about what your girlfriend is paying her. The government is looking at YOUR payment history, not your friend's, and how it adds up.

You know, you really should stop spreading this misinformation around several threads. What Uncle Sam cares about is your wage. The amount you make per hour for your job. It doesn't matter if you are paid for that job by a company, an individual, two individuals, or receive your pay in unmarked small bills, your wage is what you make per hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how it would be legal. In the eyes of the law you are each her employers individually, hence both parties having their own EIN and filing your own taxes. I would think you are both also required to pay at least minimum wage.

This is correct. Uncle Sam doesn't care about what your girlfriend is paying her. The government is looking at YOUR payment history, not your friend's, and how it adds up.

You know, you really should stop spreading this misinformation around several threads. What Uncle Sam cares about is your wage. The amount you make per hour for your job. It doesn't matter if you are paid for that job by a company, an individual, two individuals, or receive your pay in unmarked small bills, your wage is what you make per hour.

Source? Zero, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how it would be legal. In the eyes of the law you are each her employers individually, hence both parties having their own EIN and filing your own taxes. I would think you are both also required to pay at least minimum wage.

This is correct. Uncle Sam doesn't care about what your girlfriend is paying her. The government is looking at YOUR payment history, not your friend's, and how it adds up.

You know, you really should stop spreading this misinformation around several threads. What Uncle Sam cares about is your wage. The amount you make per hour for your job. It doesn't matter if you are paid for that job by a company, an individual, two individuals, or receive your pay in unmarked small bills, your wage is what you make per hour.

Source? Zero, huh?

I could ask you the same thing. The DOL site does not address working two simultaneous hourly paid positions because it cannot happen. It's a bizzare enough concept that it isn't worth addressing on any nanny pay site or dol site. Yes, in a share you have two employers. Many people have multiple employers.

I challenge you to find one actual source that suggests an hourly employee can ever be on a position to be earning double minimum wage.

[Anonymous]

When your nanny reports you to the Department of Labor, for paying her below the legal minimum wage, you think you get to scream, "oh, but wait, my neighbor made up the difference"?

Do yourself a favor, and have a chat with an employment attorney.

[Anonymous]

Nannies can definately sue an employer who is paying below the legal minimum wage. They can get a free lawyer from their state Legal Aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When your nanny reports you to the Department of Labor, for paying her below the legal minimum wage, you think you get to scream, "oh, but wait, my neighbor made up the difference"?

Do yourself a favor, and have a chat with an employment attorney.

No, we'd show them a contract, showing a legal hourly base and OT rate along with copies of paystubs and cancelled checks showing that the nanny's wage was actually paid.

You might want to have that consult with the employment lawyer to see how far the "I'm actually simultaneously working two jobs at once" complaint usually turns out.

[Anonymous]

So I have tried and tried to find the answer via google but it just isn't there. The only websites that say anything about a nanny share and minimum wage come from the UK so obviously that doesn't apply here.

Either the law is really complicated on this issue or it's not clear or no one except those on DCUM actually care because it's impossible to find the answer.

So basically if you are in or considering a nanny share where each family would be paying less than minimum wage you should consult an attorney first. DON'T take advice from DCUM. Since no one has posted an actual link with the answer we know that no one here really knows the answer and everyone is just guessing. Unless you can post a link with the answer stop acting like you know for a fact what the truth is and stop spreading rumors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see how it would be legal. In the eyes of the law you are each her employers individually, hence both parties having their own EIN and filing your own taxes. I would think you are both also required to pay at least minimum wage.

This is correct. Uncle Sam doesn't care about what your girlfriend is paying her. The government is looking at YOUR payment history, not your friend's, and how it adds up.

You know, you really should stop spreading this misinformation around several threads. What Uncle Sam cares about is your wage. The amount you make per hour for your job. It doesn't matter if you are paid for that job by a company, an individual, two individuals, or receive your pay in unmarked small bills, your wage is what you make per hour.

Source? Zero, huh?

I could ask you the same thing. The DOL site does not address working two simultaneous hourly paid positions because it cannot happen. It's a bizzare enough concept that it isn't worth addressing on any nanny pay site or dol site. Yes, in a share you have two employers. Many people have multiple employers.

I challenge you to find one actual source that suggests an hourly employee can ever be on a position to be earning double minimum wage.

In a share, do you only have to have one employer identification number or two? Do you have one worker's comp policy or two? Does the nanny receive one paycheck or two? If one family fails to pay the nanny, is the other share family on the hook for the rest? Im guessing not, since you employ her seperately. When nanny files her taxes, does she not have to file as someone with multiple jobs, and enter all of the information separately, and at the hourly wage she is paid by the individual family? In all other situations, a share nanny is treated as having to jobs, with two seperate employers. The fact that you share her time makes no difference otherwise, so I challenge YOU to find one source that indicates that an employer is off the hook for minimum wage based off of what another employer pays. You don't think it will set off some alarm bells when your nanny fills out any tax forms and her hourly wage is below minimum wage?