I live in California and I have been caring for a wheel chair bound, 95 year old woman with dementia for 3 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week . I cant leave her for a second by herself. I tried getting help, because I am burnt out. The girl I hired quit after 2 months of working without pay. (The ladies son wouldnt pay her). Since i live rent free, does that count as my pay for caring for the lady? Should I be getting paid also? If so how much is the weekly minimum pay for 24 hour care 7 days a week in california?
Contact the state labor board and see if you have any kind of case. Absent an actual employment contract, you might be hard-pressed to get that kind of money from the son, but I have a feeling you can put together some kind of case using receipts, witnesses, and recreating time cards to account for the time you've been there.
Did you have permission to hire the other person? If you did, why wasn’t she paid? Do you want to remain there as an employee? It doesn’t sound like a feasible option to me. What else do they provide? Food?
This is a confusing posting. Can you please give more details so people can respond. There is absolutely no way that you can keep up this pace. Sleep deprecation is brutal. Plus, how can you properly care for someone if you aren’t caring for yourself?
I am going to assume that son will say you are not an employee but a "volunteer caregiver."
So in your case, California has a domestic caregiver coalition. Here is the link:
https://www.cadomesticworkers.org/
It tells you wages of your area, etc. If I were you, I would reach out to them for assistance.
If, however, you do not agree that this is a fair wage, ...because it is “at will” employment, you can leave any time. If the family is failing to meet legal obligations (paying workers) l, this is not a secure position.
"Can meal and lodging credits be applied by an employer against a domestic worker’s wages? Yes. Meal and lodging credits can be applied. However, an employer must abide by the limits specified in Wage Order No. 15. That is, meals or lodging may only be credited against the minimum wage if the employer and the employee enter into a voluntary written agreement before the work is performed. (This requirement applies to all types of domestic workers.)"
Thus, if your employer did not make an agreement with you to subtract meal and lodging from your wages, if you file a wage claim or file a lawsuit, you will be entitled to minimum wage for 9 hrs per day and overtime for anything over 9 hrs per day or over 40 hrs per week.
Also, note that if you report your employer and your employer retaliates by firing you, etc. you have recourse under the law.
I would find someone who knows the work you have done all these years - a personal reference who can vouch to your next employer that you have done above and beyond what is required, or a physician who knows the care you have provided, etc. and extricate yourself from this situation.
Do the math, 24 x20/hr is $ 480 a day. $ 20/hr is what a home health would charge. And Home Health isn't cooking meals, isn't maintaining a household. They're just collecting vitals & monitoring. $ 480/day for 365 days and that's $ 175,200 gross. Show me any bedroom on the planet that costs that much for you to rent for that for a year of your life. For that matter, show me a caregiver that is compensated that much, ever ? Quite often a house or other assets would need to be bought & paid for, liquidated to pay a Home Health group to pay for that level of care. In effect, you're saving the estate for an inheritance to beneficiaries that won't divy up the workload. This is what I found out about the human race & what life all about. Don't get me wrong, what I did for last remaining parent & dog was a burden I would do again. I'd do it differently though this time.
The agency I use charges $340 for 24 hours. The caregiver must have eight hours of free time during the 24 (so she can rest or do whatever she wants).
Twenty years ago, my mom and dad paid their live-in caregiver $120 a day plus room and board.
As others have said, you need to be paid!!!!
Especially if you are not being paid. I doubt your situation is legal.
Please, please do not continue to do this, you are being treated like a slave.
You need money for your own life, and future
This is so upsetting to read, please look after yourself
So----NO you are not being paid enough.
I would decide what you neeed (time off, respite care, etcc)then have a professional talk with the son. Get something in writing.
Is it time to tell the son that his mother really needs the supervision of cared nursing facility?
Good luck to you. Be STRONG, be BOLD!
At any rate, no one says you have to stay there. You refer to 'the ladies son', so assuming you aren't related to the lady or the son. Give the son notice - say a month - and tell him you can't do it alone and no longer want the deal you made in the beginning. Even long term employees at a company ask for raises from time to time. See what he offers. If not acceptable, move on your notice of departure date. End of story.
My daughter lives in CA. Her rent is $3000 a month. She MAKES about $10K a month.
While I realize she's highly trained and educated...she's still paying $3K for her rent. So your 'rent' is about that, or less. You should be making $20 an hour beyond what the free rent is. And it should be run through an accountant, taxes and SS paid.
Daughter works a typical 40 hr week. You work much more. And you have no time off? Wow, these people saw you coming!
Find another place to go & another job then confront them with your demands. If they say 'no' then tell them goodbye and start anew.
Seems harsh, but you are being taken advantage of, big time.
They also get one 24 hr day off so a replacement should be hired for that 24 hr period.
You really need to renegotiate with your Employer the Terms of your Live In.
If Employer does not come to a satisfied agreement with you, give your Notice to quit.
Also, Employer and you should each sign a paper listing what is expected from each other and the amount if time off and pay, ect.
I found an Agency that would furnish 24 7 Live In care for $500 a week but I don't know what they would be paying their Employee who would actually be living in.
I do know the Live In is expected to have an 8 hr sleep per night, a Bedroom, bathroom and meals plus 1 day (24 hrs) off a week.