Effective January 1, 2015, federal minimum wage and overtime pay protections apply to most direct care workers. (Find out Find out here if you have to pay minimum wage and overtime if you have to pay minimum wage and overtime.)

Minimum wage : The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 an hour, though many states have their own minimum wage laws. When a worker is protected by both state and federal minimum wage laws, the worker is entitled to the higher minimum wage. (Check your state minimum wage Check your state minimum wage here .) More about Minimum Wage >>

Overtime : Workers who are covered under federal overtime pay protections must be paid at a rate not less than one and one-half times their regular rate of pay after 40 hours of work in a workweek. More about Overtime pay >>

Example

For example, if a covered worker earns $10/hour and works 45 hours in a workweek, the overtime rate is $15/hour and the worker must be paid $15/hour for the five hours of overtime work in that workweek. The worker would then earn $475 ($10 x 40 + $15 x 5) in that workweek.

Recordkeeping : If you are required to pay the federal minimum wage and overtime pay, then you are also required to keep basic employee time and pay records, including the hours each employee works each week. More about Recordkeeping >>