[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 174 (Friday, September 8, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46766-46768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22141]



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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Wage and Hour Division

29 CFR Part 552

RIN 1215-AA82


Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service

AGENCY: Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, 
Labor.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule revises regulations to incorporate changes 
necessitated by amendments to Title II of the Social Security Act which 
were enacted October 22, 1994, as Public Law 103-387 (Social Security 
Domestic Employment Reform Act), and makes other updating and technical 
revisions. A separate document published elsewhere in this issue 
reopens the comment period regarding the proposed revision to 
Sec. 552.109, which was published in the Federal Register on December 
30, 1993 (58 FR 69310), to clarify the minimum wage and overtime 
exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for certain 
employees of third-party employers who provide domestic companionship 
services.

DATES: This regulation is effective October 10, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Richard M. Brennan, Acting Director, Division of Policy and Analysis, 
Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards Administration, U.S. 
Department of Labor, room s-3506, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 219-8412. This is not a toll-free number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Paperwork Reduction Act

    This regulation contains no reporting or recordkeeping requirements 
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-511). The 
general FLSA information collection requirements (including 
requirements contained in part 552) were approved by the Office of 
Management and Budget under the control number 1215-0017.

II. Background

    The Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the 
Federal Register on December 30, 1993 (58 FR 69310), inviting public 
comments until February 28, 1994, on the following technical 
modifications to 29 CFR part 552:
    (1) Revise Sec. 552.100(a)(1) to delete references to former 
minimum wage 

[[Page 46767]]
levels that have been overtaken by subsequent statutory increases in 
the minimum wage since part 552 was last revised;
    (2) Revise Sec. 552.100(c) to reflect updated credits, in a 
percentage format, that can be taken by an employer for meals and 
lodging furnished to a domestic service employee;
    (3) Revise Sec. 552.101(a)(1) to change the reference ``20 CFR 
404.1027(j)'' to ``20 CFR 404.1057'' pursuant to a redesignation in 
regulations issued under the Social Security Act;
    (4) Revise Sec. 552.105(a) to change the FLSA reference ``section 
3(s)(4)'' to ``section 3(s)(1)(B)'' in accordance with the Fair Labor 
Standards Amendments of 1989, 103 Stat. 938;
    (5) Revise Sec. 552.2(b) to change the reference in the third 
sentence from ``Section 7(1)'' to ``Section 7(l) (substituting a lower 
case letter ``l'' for the number ``1'' in the parentheses); and
    (6) Revise the last sentence of Sec. 552.104(b) to correct two 
spelling errors.
    In addition, the Department invited public comments on a proposal 
to revise Sec. 552.109 to clarify that, in order for the exemptions in 
FLSA sections 13(a)(15) and 13(b)(21) to apply, employees engaged in 
providing companionship services and live-in domestic service employees 
who are employed by a third-party employer or agency must also be 
``jointly'' employed by the family or household using their services.
    A total of 7 comments were received in response to the notice. All 
focused their remarks on the proposed revision to Sec. 552.109 
concerning joint employment and third-party employers. The Department 
is continuing to consider this particular proposal, and a separate 
document published elsewhere in this issue reopens and extends the 
comment period regarding the proposed revision to Sec. 552.109.

III. Summary of Final Rule

A. Updates and Technical Revisions

    No public comments were received on the updating and technical 
changes that were proposed in the December 1993 notice, and such 
revisions are adopted in the final rule as proposed.

B. Revisions Required by the ``Social Security Domestic Employment 
Reform Act of 1994''

    The Social Security Domestic Employment Reform Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 
103-387, 108 Stat. 4071) was enacted into law on October 22, 1994. 
Among other things, this law amended section 3121(x) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 to change the ``threshold'' for withholding and 
paying social security taxes on domestic workers from $50 per quarter 
to $1,000 annually in 1995. In the case of years after 1995, the 
applicable $1000 threshold is to be indexed in $100 increments rounded 
down to the nearest $100. The new law also amended section 209(a)(6) 
(formerly designated as 209(g)) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
409(a)(6)(B)) to exclude from the term ``wages'' cash remuneration paid 
by an employer for domestic service employment if the cash remuneration 
is less than the applicable dollar threshold as defined in section 
3121(x) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    As a consequence, the reference in Sec. 552.2(b)(1) to FLSA's 
coverage of domestic service employees under section 6(f) of FLSA based 
on section 209(g) of the Social Security Act and to a $50 cash 
threshold must be modified to conform the regulatory language to the 
recent statutory changes. This revision of Sec. 552.2(b)(1) is 
technical in nature and based on the Social Security Domestic 
Employment Reform Act of 1994 (Pub. L. 103-387, 108 Stat. 4071), about 
which the Department has no discretion under section 6(f) of the FLSA. 
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(3) (A) and (B), this minor, clarifying 
revision does not require prior notice and comment.

Executive Order 12866/Sec. 202 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
or 1995

    This final rule is not a ``significant regulatory action'' within 
the meaning of Executive Order 12866, nor does it require a section 202 
statement under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995. The revisions 
adopted in this rule are technical in nature or are otherwise required 
by a recent statutory enactment of the Congress. In any event, the 
revisions will not have a significant impact on the employment of 
domestic service employees. Accordingly, these changes are not expected 
to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an annual effect on the economy 
of $100 million or more or adversely affect in a material way the 
economy, a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the 
environment, public health or safety, or State, local, or tribal 
governments or communities; (2) create a serious inconsistency or 
otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency; 
(3) materially alter the budgetary impact of entitlements, grants, user 
fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients 
thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal 
mandates, the President's priorities, or the principles set forth in 
Executive Order 12866. Therefore, no regulatory impact analysis has 
been prepared.

Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    This final rule will not have a significant economic impact on a 
substantial number of small entities. The changes being adopted in this 
rule simply conform the regulations to updates in related legislation 
and are technical in nature. Therefore, the rule is not expected to 
have a ``significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities'' within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act. A 
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required.
Document Preparation

    This document was prepared under the direction and control of Maria 
Echaveste, Administrator, Wage and Hour Division, Employment Standards 
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

List of Subjects in 29 CFR Part 552

    Domestic service workers, Employment, Labor, Minimum wages, 
Overtime pay, Wages.

    Accordingly, part 552 of title 29 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations is amended as set forth below.

    Signed at Washington, DC, on this 31st day of August, 1995.
Maria Echaveste,
Administrator, Wage and Hour Division.

PART 552--APPLICATION OF THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT TO DOMESTIC 
SERVICE

    1. The authority citation for part 552 is revised to read as 
follows:

    Authority: Secs. 13(a)(15) and 13(b)(21) of the Fair Labor 
Standards Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(15), (b)(21)), 88 Stat. 62; 
Sec. 29(b) of the Fair Labor Standards Amendments of 1974 (Pub. L. 93-
259, 88 Stat. 76), unless otherwise noted.

    2. Section 552.2(b)(1) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 552.2  Purpose and scope.

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *
    (1) If the employee's compensation for such services from his/her 
employer would constitute wages under section 209(a)(6) of title II of 
the Social Security Act, that is, if the cash remuneration during a 
calendar year is not less than $1,000 in 1995, or the amount designated 
for subsequent years pursuant to the adjustment provision in 

[[Page 46768]]
section 3121(x) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or
* * * * *


Sec. 552.2  [Amended]

    3. In Sec. 552.2, paragraph (b), the reference in the first 
sentence of the concluding text is revised to read ``Section 7(l)'' 
instead of ``Section 7(1)'' (substituting a lower case letter ``l'' for 
the number ``1'' in the parentheses).
    4. In Section 552.100 (paragraphs (a)(1), (c) and (d) are revised 
to read as follows:


Sec. 552.100  Application of minimum wage and overtime provisions.

    (a)(1) Domestic service employees must receive for employment in 
any household a minimum wage of not less than that required by section 
6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
* * * * *
    (c) For enforcement purposes, the Administrator will accept a 
credit taken by the employer of up to 37.5 percent of the statutory 
minimum hourly wage for a breakfast (if furnished), up to 50 percent of 
the statutory minimum hourly wage for a lunch (if furnished), and up to 
62.5 percent of the statutory minimum hourly wage for a dinner (if 
furnished), which meal credits when combined do not in total exceed 150 
percent of the statutory minimum hourly wage for any day. Nothing 
herein shall prevent employers from crediting themselves with the 
actual cost or fair value of furnishing meals, whichever is less, as 
determined in accordance with part 531 of this chapter, if such cost or 
fair value is different from the meal credits specified above: 
Provided, however, That employers keep, maintain and preserve (for a 
period of 3 years) the records on which they rely to justify such 
different cost figures.
    (d) In the case of lodging furnished to live-in domestic service 
employees, the Administrator will accept a credit taken by the employer 
of up to seven and one-half times the statutory minimum hourly wage for 
each week lodging is furnished. Nothing herein shall prevent employers 
from crediting themselves with the actual cost or fair value of 
furnishing lodging, whichever is less, as determined in accordance with 
part 531 of this chapter, if such cost or fair value is different from 
the amount specified above, provided however, that employers keep, 
maintain, and preserve (for a period of 3 years) the records on which 
they rely to justify such different cost figures. In determining 
reasonable cost or fair value, the regulations and rulings in 29 CFR 
part 531 are applicable.


Sec. 552.101  [Amended]

    5. In Sec. 552.101, the parenthetical reference in the first 
sentence of paragraph (a) is revised to read ``(20 CFR 404.1057)''.
    6. In Sec. 552.104, paragraph (b) is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 552.104   Babysitting services performed on a casual basis.

* * * * *
    (b) Employment in babysitting services would usually be on a 
``casual basis,'' whether performed for one or more employees, if such 
employment by all such employers does not exceed 20 hours per week in 
the aggregate. Employment in excess of these hours may still be on a 
``casual basis'' if the excessive hours of employment are without 
regularity or are for irregular or intermittent periods. Employment in 
babysitting services shall also be deemed to be on a ``casual basis'' 
(regardless of the number of weekly hours worked by the babysitter) in 
the case of individuals whose vocations are not domestic service who 
accompany families for a vacation period to take care of the children 
if the duration of such employment does not exceed 6 weeks.
* * * * *


Sec. 552.105  [Amended]

    7. In Sec. 552.105, the reference in the fourth sentence of 
paragraph (a) is revised to read ``section 3(s)(1)(B) of the Act * * 
*''

[FR Doc. 95-22141 Filed 9-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-27-M