The Snodgrass Chronicles and Nanny Woes
I recently was involved in hiring a nanny and spent the better part of two days trying to structure her compensation. Ok, my wife did. I was eating cookies and playing with my kids.
Bottom line for parent employers - Don’t take nanny employment issues lightly. The FLSA is a minefield when it comes to “domestic service” employees, most of whom are nonexempt and entitled to minimum wage and overtime (not to mention unemployment and workers’ compensation insurance). Just ask Darcy Snodgrass. Her nanny sued her and her husband for breach of contract and failure to pay overtime under state and federal law. Aside from alleging some very unflattering facts about Ms. Snodgrass (repeatedly harassed plaintiff to the point of vomiting), the Plaintiff maintained that the Snodgrass family could not challenge her overtime entitlement accounting because they failed to maintain time records of her employment. Never thought of that, huh? Yes, you might want to think about putting up a punch-card time clock in your living room.
