Massachusetts has a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights with real paperwork attached: a written agreement, a notice of rights and timesheets. A good agency will walk you through it. If it doesn’t mention it, that tells you something.
From Newton and Brookline to the South End and Cambridge, Boston-area families often juggle hospital, university and long commuting schedules. A clear schedule and a written backup plan for snow days and sick days go a long way.
Families in Cambridge and Somerville often consider a nanny share. The same rules apply to each employer, so plan the paperwork together.
In most placements, you, not the agency, are the nanny’s employer. That makes the household-employment rules your responsibility.
A written agreement for 16 or more hours a week. Under the Massachusetts Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, both of you sign it before work starts, in a language she understands. It covers pay, schedule, duties, benefits and how the job can end. Timesheets are required at least every two weeks.
Notice of rights. Every domestic worker gets a notice of her rights; the Attorney General’s office provides one.
Rest and overtime. For 40 or more hours a week, she’s entitled to 24 hours off each week and 48 hours off each month, which she can waive in writing. Overtime applies after 40 hours a week.
Live-in nannies. A live-in nanny let go without cause is owed written notice plus 30 days of housing, or two weeks’ average pay as severance.
Sick time and minimum wage. Massachusetts’ earned sick time law applies to all employers; for a household with fewer than 11 employees the sick time may be unpaid. The state minimum wage is $15.00 an hour, and there are no local rates.
Pay, tax and labor rules vary by state and city. This guide explains common practice; a household payroll provider, accountant or your state labor department can confirm what applies to you.
Tammy Gold, LCSW, spent years matching families with nannies before writing Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer (Penguin). Today she works beside families, and their agencies, as a neutral expert: defining the job, interviewing candidates, checking references and setting up the first 30 days.
Every agency describes itself as the best. These are the signals that separate a great one:
Many families find a great nanny without an agency, through referrals, local parent groups and job sites. You save the fee and take on the screening yourself: interviews, reference checks, a paid trial day and a written agreement. See how to hire a nanny.
Tammy Gold, LCSW, is not an agency and has no stake in which candidate you choose. By video, she works with families in Boston and anywhere else: defining the job, reviewing candidates an agency sends, joining your interviews, and planning the first 30 days with your new nanny.
Keep the agency, or skip it, and add someone with no stake in which candidate you choose. $189 for an hour, by video.
$189
Screening call, reference questions, clinical interview, and trial-day checklist.
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Tammy is not a placement agency and has no affiliation with, or financial interest in, any agency, daycare or payroll service. She provides independent expert guidance; decisions remain your family’s. Legal, tax and licensing questions belong with the appropriate professional or state agency.