If you live in Connecticut and employ any of the workers listed below in your home, then you have legal obligations as a domestic employer.

  • Nanny
  • House Cleaner
  • Home Attendant
  • Chef
  • Driver
  • Household Manager

Domestic workers have the following rights in Connecticut:

  • On January 1, 2024, the minimum wage increased to $15.69 per hour.
  • Overtime pay for hours worked over 40 per week is 1.5 times the regular rate. (Not applicable for live-in workers.) 
  • The worker is entitled to a 30 minute meal period if they work a shift of 7.5 hours or more, and the break is to occur after the first two hours and before the last two hours of the shift.
  • The employer must provide the domestic worker with a written notice of rights which includes: pay rate, hours, payment schedules, job duties, availability and rate of paid time off, fees for board and lodging, and how to file a complaint. Complaint forms are available on the website of the Wage and Workplace Standards Division of the Connecticut Department of Labor: https://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/wgwkstnd/
  • The right to not be fired as an act of retaliation or for voicing their rights as a worker.
  • The right to keep their identifying and other personal documents.
  • A worker who suffers an injury or accident in the workplace can apply for Workers’ Compensation if they work in your home at least 26 hours per week. For more information, visit: https://ctpaidleave.org/
  • Unemployment Benefits: A worker can apply for benefits if they worked in your home and were paid at least $1,000 in a 3-month period during the current year or the previous year
  • Paid Leave:
    • All employees in Connecticut pay 0.5% of their income into the Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance pool.
    • Employees may collect up to 12 weeks in income replacement benefits.
    • Independent contractors can opt to contribute 0.5% of their “self-employment income” to Paid Family and Medical Leave insurance.
    • For more information visit: https://ctpaidleave.org
  • Paid Sick Time:
  • Protection against discrimination & harassment:
    • Workplace sexual harassment is illegal.
    • It’s illegal to discriminate against a domestic worker based on age, ancestry, color, learning disability, marital status, intellectual disability, national origin, physical disability, mental disability, race, religious creed, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or status as a veteran.
    • Domestic workers have the following rights in Connecticut
    • For more information visit: https://ct.gov/CHRO