UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
BOARD OF ALIEN LABOR CERTIFICATION APPEALS

Judges' Benchbook
Second Edition - May 1992


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CHAPTER 14

LIVE-IN CONTRACT


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Regulatory requirements for live-in application

II. Applicability of regulation

III. Employer bears the burden of complying with regulatory requirements

I. Regulatory requirements for live-in application

A labor certification application for a live-in household domestic service worker must include documentary evidence of the relationship between the alien and the employer. Among other things, the employer must document:

the household living accommodations;

the terms of the employment contract between the employer and the alien, which must state:

the alien's wages and hours of employment, and that the alien may work over-time if paid at the legally required rate;

that the alien will receive free room and board, and reside on the employer's premises;

that the alien is free to leave the employer's premises during non-working hours;

the alien's duties;

the employer's monetary advances to the alien and the terms of repayment;

that the alien is free to leave and the employer is free to terminate the alien's employment with two weeks' notice;

that the alien has received a duplicate contract;

any other agreement between the employer and the alien; and

the alien's paid experience for the position.

20 C.F.R. § 656.21(a)(3).

II. Applicability of regulation

Section 656.21(a)(3) does not apply to applications for jobs outside of the category of live-in household domestic service worker. For instance, an employer need not provide a statement describing the household living accommodations for a child monitor, where the child monitor must be "willing to stay overnight on occasion when employers are out of town" (approximately once every three months). Robert and Ellen Hoffman , 90-INA-451 (Mar. 20, 1991).

III. Employer bears the burden of complying with regulatory requirements

The employer bears the burden of complying with the precise regulatory requirements.

  • The employment contract must specifically state the alien's hourly rate and that the alien will be paid for overtime at a rate no less than the legally required overtime rate. Sandra Ross , 89-INA-42 (Oct. 30, 1989).

A. Production of employment contract

Section 656.21(a)(3)(ii) requires an employer to produce two copies of the executed employment contract. Where the original of the employment contract for a live-in domestic job is not available, photocopies of that contract are acceptable. J. ichael & Patricia Solar , 88-INA-56 (Apr. 6, 1989) ( en banc ).

B. Provision of room and board at no cost

Section 656.21(a)(3)(ii)(I) provides that the employment contract must state that the worker will be provided with a private room and board at no cost. It is not sufficient to state that a private room will be available to the employee during non-working time. Sandra Ross , 89-INA-42 (Oct. 30, 1989).

Where an employer changes residences several times during the certification process without informing the CO, it has not shown that a private room and board is available to the alien. Elizabeth Beaumont , 88-INA-168 (Mar. 21, 1990).


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