Florida has no domestic worker law of its own, so federal rules do most of the work. That doesn’t make the hire simpler. In a city with many bilingual families and seasonal residents, the job description and the agreement matter even more.
Many Miami families want a bilingual nanny, often Spanish-speaking. Test language skills in the interview the way you’d use them: reading to your child, talking with you about the day.
If you split the year between Miami and another home, decide whether the nanny travels with you, how travel days are paid, and what happens to her hours while you’re away.
In most placements, you, not the agency, are the nanny’s employer. That makes the household-employment rules your responsibility.
Minimum wage. Florida’s minimum wage reached $15.00 an hour on September 30, 2026, under a 2020 constitutional amendment, with yearly inflation adjustments after that. Miami and Miami-Dade don’t set their own rate.
Overtime follows federal law. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, a live-out nanny earns overtime after 40 hours a week. A live-in nanny employed directly by the family is exempt from federal overtime but must still be paid at least minimum wage for every hour worked.
Taxes. Once you pay a household employee more than the IRS threshold in a year, you owe Social Security and Medicare taxes; IRS Publication 926 explains it.
No state paid sick leave law. Florida doesn’t require it. Many families offer paid sick days anyway to keep a good nanny, and put them in writing.
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 Miami 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.
Download free ↓Questions first? Text (818) 308-1358 · info@caremapmethod.com
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.