Sponsors (21)
The bill extends minimum-wage and overtime protections and clearer definitions for babysitting—benefiting domestic workers and clarifying employer/worker rights—but raises childcare costs for families, may push some informal sitters into unpaid favors, and introduces potential compliance ambiguity for mixed-role caregivers.
Low-income and gig domestic workers (including babysitters) will become eligible for minimum wage and overtime when their work no longer qualifies as casual babysitting.
Parents and families gain clearer legal protections and recourse because the law defines 'babysitting services' and clarifies when work is considered 'casual.'
Household employers and domestic workers get clearer boundaries due to a 20% cap on non-babysitting household tasks, limiting misuse of the 'casual babysitting' classification.
Parents and middle-class families who regularly rely on informal babysitters will likely face higher childcare costs because those workers must be paid minimum wage and overtime.
Occasional babysitters (neighbors, relatives) and families may shift toward unpaid favors to avoid paperwork or costs, reducing paid opportunities for some domestic workers.
Homeowners and employers could face compliance uncertainty for mixed-role caregivers because excluding trained medical personnel and home care workers from the babysitting definition may create ambiguity.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Narrows some FLSA domestic‑worker exemptions, defines "babysitting services" and "casual basis," and allows up to 20% non‑babysitting household work during babysitting.
Introduced March 12, 2026 by Patty Murray · Last progress March 12, 2026
Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to narrow certain domestic-worker exemptions, adds clear legal definitions for “babysitting services” and “casual basis,” and limits how much non‑babysitting household work can be counted while providing babysitting (up to 20%). The Secretary of Labor is directed to define “casual basis” (irregular or intermittent) by regulation, and the change excludes care provided by trained medical personnel and home care workers from the statutory definition of babysitting.