Workers Compensation for Domestic Employees
March 14, 2016
The subject of domestic employees and whether or not workers compensation is required for them is often confusing. Domestic employees could be housekeepers, nannies, gardeners, or others who work around the home. Some are household members with lodging and food as part of their compensation; many are part time workers with irregular hours and may be working for multiple employers. The following chart lists state requirements for providing insurance for domestic employees.
| State | Requirements | Statute |
| Alabama | Employers of domestic employees, farm laborers, or casual employees and municipalities having a population of less than 2,000 (according to the most recent federal census) are not required to provide coverage but can elect to be covered by the provisions of the Alabama Workers Compensation Law. | Ala. Code § 25-5-50
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| Alaska | N/A | N/A |
| Arizona | N/A | N/A |
| Arkansas | N/A | N/A |
| California | Employed 52 or more hours, or earned $100 or more, during 90 calendar days immediately preceding date of injury or last employment exposing such worker to the hazards of an occupational disease. Excludes workers employed by a parent, spouse, or child. | Cal. Lab. Code § 3352 |
| Colorado | Working 40 hours or more in a week, or working 5 days or more in a week. | Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 8-40-302 |
| Connecticut | Working 26 hours or more by one employer. | Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 31-275 |
| Delaware | Earns more than $750 in any 3 month period from a single employer. | Del. Code Ann. tit. 19, § 2307 |
| District of Columbia | Employed 240 hours or more by employer. | D.C. Code § 32-1501 |
| Florida | N/A | N/A |
| Georgia | N/A | N/A |
| Hawaii | Any worker employed solely for personal, family, or household purposes whose wages are $225 or more during the calendar quarter and during each completed calendar quarter of the preceding 12 month period. | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 386-1 |
| Idaho | N/A | N/A |
| Illinois | Any worker(s) employed for a total of 40 hours or more per week for a period of 13 or more weeks during a calendar year by any household or residence. | 820 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 305/3 |
| Indiana | N/A | N/A |
| Iowa | Employees working in or about a private dwelling who are not a household member, whose earnings are $1500 or more during the 12 consecutive months prior to an injury. | Iowa Code Ann. § 85.1 |
| Kansas | N/A | N/A |
| Kentucky | Two or more domestic workers regularly employed in a private home 40 or more hours a week. | Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.650 |
| Louisiana | N/A | N/A |
| Maine | N/A | N/A |
| Maryland | N/A | N/A |
| Massachusetts | Domestic workers employed 16 or more hours per week by an employer. | Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 152, § 54A |
| Michigan | Any household domestic worker except those employed for less than 35 hours per week for 13 weeks or longer during the preceding 52 weeks. | Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 418.118
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| Minnesota | Household workers are excluded from workers compensation coverage requirement. This includes a domestic, repairer, grounds keeper, or maintenance worker at a private household who earns less than $1,000 cash during a quarter of the year unless more than $1,000 was earned in any quarter of the previous year. | Minn. Stat. Ann. § 176.041 |
| Mississippi | N/A | N/A |
| Missouri | N/A | N/A |
| Montana | N/A | N/A |
| Nebraska | N/A | N/A |
| Nevada | N/A | N/A |
| New Hampshire | All household employers in NH must obtain coverage for any PT or FT domestic employee. | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 281-A:5 |
| New Jersey | All household employers in NJ must obtain coverage for any PT or FT domestic employee. | N.J. Stat. Ann. § 34:11-56.1 |
| New Mexico | N/A | N/A |
| New York | Any domestic worker employed (other than those employed on a farm) by the same employer for a minimum of 40 hours per week. | N.Y. Workers' comp. Law App 355.4 (McKinney) |
| North Carolina | Compulsory coverage. Covers domestic service if employer employs more than 10 full-time non-seasonal laborers. | N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 97-13 |
| Ohio | Any domestic worker who earns $160 or more in any calendar quarter from one employer. | Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation |
| Oklahoma | Any person who is employed as a domestic servant or as a causal worker in and about a private home, which had a gross annual payroll in the preceding calendar year of more than $10,000 for such workers. | Oklahoma Bureau of Workers Compensation |
| Oregon | N/A | N/A |
| Pennsylvania | N/A | N/A |
| Rhode Island | N/A | N/A |
| South Carolina | Covers domestic service if employer employs 4 or more employees. | S.C. Code Ann §42-1-360 |
| South Dakota | Any domestic worker employed more than 20 hours in any calendar week for more than 6 weeks in any 3 week period. | S.D. Codified Laws § 62-3-15 |
| Tennessee | N/A | N/A |
| Texas | N/A | N/A |
| Utah | Compulsory Coverage. Any domestic worker employed for 40 or more hours per week by the same employer. | Utah Code Ann. § 34A-2-103 |
| Vermont | N/A | N/A |
| Virginia | N/A | N/A |
| Washington | Compulsory coverage. Two or more domestic workers if regularly employed in a private home for 40 or more hours per week. | Wash. Rev. Code Ann. § 51.12.020 |
| West Virginia | N/A | N/A |
| Wisconsin | N/A | N/A |
| Wyoming | N/A | N/A |