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The regulation and bulletin do different jobs

Current 29 CFR 552.109 says third-party employers may not claim the companionship minimum-wage/overtime exemption or the live-in overtime exemption described there.

The Department of Labor’s 25 July 2025 Field Assistance Bulletin, FAB 2025-4, separately directs Wage and Hour Division staff not to apply the 2013 provisions while that policy remains applicable. The bulletin expressly does not alter statutory or regulatory requirements or create enforceable rights.

A proposed rule is not an effective repeal. An older public answer should not silently displace the later bulletin. Final-rule developments, litigation, private claims and state/local law still need current assessment for the actual arrangement.

Sources: Department of Labor / eCFR: 552.109(a) and (c) U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: All 3 pages; Enforcement Guidance and final paragraph

Price the work you actually plan to supply

Separate companionship, personal care, trained nursing and other healthcare tasks. Establish who recruits, employs, directs, schedules, records time and pays, including travel between clients and longer visits.

Until the applicable treatment is resolved, make the wage assumption explicit rather than choosing the cheapest interpretation as fact. A two-client day can change hours and cost when travel or visits run longer; this article supplies neither an exemption decision nor an invented wage rate.

Federal payroll treatment does not establish state home-care licensing or permission to perform nursing tasks. Those decisions affect which service the agency can sell in the first place.

Scope

  • The bulletin is neither repeal nor immunity. Individual exemption/status, private enforcement, state/local law and service/professional permissions are not determined here.

Next step

Resolve the actual employment treatment before relying on an overtime saving in hiring or customer prices.

Sources & review notes

The source records distinguish access dates from substantive review dates. Updating an explanation does not itself recheck the law.

29 CFR 552.109 — Third party employment

Department of Labor / eCFR

Passage, dates and research notes

primary · 552.109(a) and (c)

Third party employers of employees engaged in companionship services

Accessed: 2026-11-12T21:22:08.251959+00:00 · Meaning reviewed: 2026-11-12T21:29:10.023446+00:00 · Next review target: 2026-12-12

Current eCFR read, displaying Title 29 through 2026-11-09. Regulatory text must be distinguished from FAB 2025-4 agency enforcement policy. Later rulemaking, private actions and state laws require review.

Field Assistance Bulletin No.2025-4 — Home Care Enforcement Guidance

U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division

Passage, dates and research notes

official-guidance · All 3 pages; Enforcement Guidance and final paragraph

does not alter any statutory or regulatory requirements.

Accessed: 2026-11-12T21:22:17.492697+00:00 · Meaning reviewed: 2026-11-12T21:29:10.023446+00:00 · Next review target: 2026-12-12

Full 3-page bulletin read. It suspends WHD enforcement of 2013 provisions while applicable, says it supersedes contrary public guidance, and states it creates no enforceable rights. Not a repeal. Track final-rule effective dates and other legal exposure.

Detailed rule records (1)
Separate home-care regulatory text from enforcement discretion Depends on the facts

Evaluate current552.109 text and FAB2025-4 separately; do not treat WHD nonenforcement as an exemption decision.

When to check: Before staffing and pricing. Source review: 2026-11-12T21:29:10.023446+00:00.

29 CFR 552.109 — Third party employment Field Assistance Bulletin No.2025-4 — Home Care Enforcement Guidance

Related case records

The case guides distinguish allegations, orders and outcomes.

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