Data / Federal rules / 2025-12316

Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service

The Wage and Hour Division published this proposed rule in the Federal Register on July 2, 2025. Comments closed on September 2, 2025.

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What the agency says

In 1974, Congress applied the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to "domestic service" employees, but exempted employees who provide "companionship services" from the minimum wage and overtime requirements and also exempted live-in domestic service employees from overtime. In 1975, the Department promulgated regulations defining companionship services and permitting third party employers to claim these exemptions. These regulations remained substantially unchanged for nearly 40 years. In 2013, the Department revised the regulations to narrow the definition of companionship services and prevent third party employers from claiming either of the exemptions. Because the Department is concerned that the 2013 regulations might not reflect the best interpretation of the FLSA and might discourage essential companionship services by making these services more expensive, the Department is proposing to return to the 1975 regulations. This summary can be found at https://www.regulations.gov by searching by the RIN: 1235-AA51.

Key facts

Document number: 2025-12316
Type: Proposed rule
Action: Proposed rule; request for comments
Agency: Labor Department; Wage and Hour Division
Published: July 2, 2025
Comments due: September 2, 2025
Dates: Comments must be received by September 2, 2025.
Regulation ID (RIN): 1235-AA51
Code of Federal Regulations: 29 CFR 552
Topics: Minimum wages; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements
Pages: 10

The document on federalregister.gov PDF

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Employment of Workers With Disabilities Under Section 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act; Withdrawal 2025-12534	Proposed rule	Jul 7, 2025
Recission of Final Rule: Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States 2025-12315 · significant	Proposed rule	Jul 2, 2025

Everything from the Wage and Hour Division · Rules on minimum wages · Rules on reporting and recordkeeping requirements · Published in July 2025

Read from the Federal Register API, last updated 2026-10-23. The document on federalregister.gov is the official record; dates and dockets can change through later corrections. Free to reuse with credit to SpecStream under CC BY 4.0.