Department of Labor Halts Enforcement of Current Companionship Exemption Rule
The Situation Report | August 4, 2025
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has halted the enforcement of the current companionship exemption rule issued in 2013 as it awaits the finalization of its proposed a rule that restores the longstanding companionship exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for third-party employers in the home care industry.
The guidance provides that field staff will:
- Discontinue enforcement of the 2013 final rule, including open cases.
- Not take any enforcement action against third party employers claiming the 13(a)(15) or 13(b)(21) FLSA exemptions.
- Not factor time limitations when determining exemption applications for companionship services.
HCANYS previously reported that DOL has proposed a rule to reinstate the so-called companionship exemption, which excludes some home care workers from parts of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
For many years prior to 2013, employees that provided companionship services were exempted from minimum wage and overtime requirements. However, in 2013, the federal DOL revised its rules relating to companionship services, effectively narrowing the definition of these services. Now, because the 2013 rules may be discouraging the use of essential companionship services, DOL is reexamining this issue. If the DOL’s recently proposed rule is finalized, workers who provide companionship services will be exempted once again from federal minimum wage and overtime requirements just as they were prior to the 2013 DOL revision. Live-in domestic services employees also will be exempted from overtime rules.
DOL stated that it expects that its proposal to revert to the pre-2013 regulations would expand access to home care and reduce costs by providing home care staffing agencies with greater scheduling flexibility and reduced labor costs for home care workers who become newly exempt.
HCANYS will continue to monitor and update members on new developments.