Dad in Oregon passed in 2021. I inherited his home (his only asset). Can his caregiver of 3 years come after me for any unpaid overtime?

It’s disheartening that a caregiver who was everyone’s lifeline, as we know a good one is and trusted for 3 years and a loved ones family come to this kind of disagreement after the patient passes. Even more so to hear stories about families intentionally skating out on the caregiver they counted on to care for their LO. I am curious here about what brings this up now. If Dad passed a year and a half ago what is making you think this caregiver will come after you now castone? Since the house passed to you directly when your dad died and I’m guessing that happened fairly quickly so you have been the sole owner for at least close to a year probably I would doubt anyone could put a claim on it or sue you for dads debts at this point. Unless of course the caregiver agreement was between you and that caregiver, not you as Dads representative but you personally so he or she actually worked for you. I am not an attorney but the way I understand it anyone with monetary claims against a deceased patient needs to make that claim known within a reasonable amount of time. Now this is generally when an estate is going through probate and that didn’t happen here but still I would hope that if this caregiver sincerely felt they had a claim and came to you with that claim in a reasonable amount of time you would have been happy to both discuss it and settle it if there were any perceived validity or not. If our caregiver were to feel she had been underpaid and we saw where she was coming from I think we would give her something and look at it as a bonus from our perspective, amounts depending on how much she thought she was owed of course and she has only been Moms caregiver for a few months!

I find it both odd and sad if this caregiver is contacting you now a year and a half later and perhaps even longer if they are talking about pay discrepancies going back the three years they were providing service. If this is the case I suspect they maybe got a job with an agency or another family who had used one previously and are now getting overtime pay not knowing it existed when they worked for you. It’s a shame they now feel wronged because it sure doesn’t sound like there was any agreement other than the $18 per hour and after 3 years everyone seemed good with that. It’s a shame this is coming up now and I hope you can put it to bed swiftly and easily.

Fair is fair if the caretaker can prove that overtime was not paid then it should be paid.

I have worked many a place that allowed timesheets, not clocking out. It was a trust thing. So you showed the time you got to work, the time u went to lunch and the time you came back, (never pd for lunch) and the time I left work. There was a column for OT. And you sign saying what u posted is accurate. I always took a copy of my time sheet before handing it in. Always checked my check to make sure I was paid the hours I submitted.

OPs answer to my question.
"I sent her hours over to payroll service each month and they paid her her regular hourly rate for all hours worked. She did not claim or request overtime during her employment."

If the employee did not put in for OT, how can she now prove she worked it? Was she hourly pay or salary? Salary you get no OT. He hired a payroll services so the proper taxes were taken out of employees salary so I don't see why he would gip her on OT.

And its my understanding, by the conversations we have had on this forum, that if estate does not go to probate, then debtors are out of luck.

Maybe we aren't being told the whole story but from what we have been told, IMO the employee is at fault here. When she cashed those checks she said that everything was fine. It was up to her to claim OT at the time. If she did and was shorted, it was up to her to tell OP then she was shorted and it corrected in her next check. You don't wait a year and a half to say "By the way, you owe me OT from 2 years ago."

It comes down to, she has to prove her case and then he has to research and see if her claim is legit. And if its a matter that she put in the OT and he just gave her regular hours, she should have complained then, he corrects it or she goes to the Labor Board filing a complaint. Seems she did none of this and now client is dead, thinks she can now put in a claim. No estate, no probate, no money. I feel the best she may be able to do is place a lien on the house. (But that cost money and proof) If OP sells, then she gets her money.

IMO when ur talking OT pay in this country its when you have work over 40 hrs a week and get time and a half. I worked a job that called for a 37 1/2 hr work week. If I worked OT, I did not get time and a half until I worked over 40 hrs. That 1 1/2 hrs was straight time.

"they paid her her regular hourly rate for all hours worked"

Lets say her contract to work a week was 35 hours. She worked 40. He says she got paid for all hours worked. So she put in for 40 and got 40. There is no OT pay when it comes to working 40hrs or under. So what is her discription of OT to his discription of OT.

@Alva

I understand what you're saying and it's good that your friend was able to stay in her home being cared for until the end.
As you know, I helped with caregiving for my first husband so he could be home and not in a nursing home. There was no way he could have afforded to use a homecare agency for the caregiving because he needed round-the-clock coverage.
I was remarried so was able to take time off from work. My second husband was understanding about it. Even if he wasn't, I would have done it anyway.
There were also cash-pay caregivers who came as well. Good CNA's that I knew and they were paid privately by the family.
People do the best they can. When people aren't filthy rich they sometimes have to be creative on how to get what's needed.
This is why I have no tolerance or respect for a person who feels they need to report at once on a caregiver who's making a couple bucks on a side job.
I think the world would be a far better place if people like this learned to mind their own business whenthey should.

From what you've told us, it looks like you made a good faith effort to pay what was owed, relying on the caregiver to report the hours worked, and on the payroll service to pay the correct rate. Anyone can sue anyone for anything, but it seems odd to be bringing up hours that might or might not have been paid correctly more than a year ago, or possibly as far back as 2018.

There are apparently some very specific rules for "companionship services for people who need someone to be with them because of their age or a disability."

https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/Pages/domestic-workers.aspx

"Under Oregon law, exempt “companionship services” includes fellowship, care and protection for a person who, because of advanced age or physical or mental infirmity, cannot care for their own needs. These services may include household work related to the care of the elderly or infirm person such as meal preparation, bed making, washing of clothes and other similar services. They may also include general household work, provided that such work does not exceed 20 percent of the total weekly hours worked.
The exemption under federal law is more narrow. The exemption is not available to third party employers such as home health agencies. In addition, the scope of exempt “companionship services” is limited to the provision of “fellowship” and “protection.”

The provision of “fellowship” means to engage the person in social, physical, and mental activities, such as conversation, reading, games, crafts, or accompanying the person on walks, on errands, to appointments, or to social events.
The provision of “protection” means to be present with the person in his or her home or to accompany the person when outside of the home to monitor the person’s safety and well-being.
Federal regulations do permit some provision of “care” as part of companionship services so long as the care does not exceed 20 percent of the total hours worked per person and per workweek. The term “care” under federal regulations means assisting the person with:

Activities of daily living (such as dressing, grooming, feeding, bathing, toileting, and transferring) and
Instrumental activities of daily living, which are tasks that enable a person to live independently at home (such as meal preparation, driving, light housework, managing finances, assistance with the physical taking of medications, and arranging medical care)."

So, if no overtime was paid, I'd speculate that the caregiver was categorized as providing companionship services for more than 80% of the time, and providing the individual ADL/IADL assistance or personal household work for 20% or less of the time.

I'd suggest gathering up your contract(s) with the caregiver and the payroll company and any other relevant paperwork. Then consult an appropriate attorney if you believe you may be sued. An expert will know what questions to ask and what exceptions might apply. They can draft a settlement agreement offering a specific payment in exchange for dropping the issue if you feel that the care given was greatly appreciated, even if the worry about a lawsuit was not.

I've scanned through the thread and can't see the answer to this: where did the idea of this potential claim for time and a half come from? Has the caregiver said anything to suggest she feels there is money outstanding?

I must declare a kind of interest, in that this is triggering anger with me about the whole benefits and payments issue. If we go over hours we're supposed to claim overtime. If we work unscheduled hours we're supposed to claim overtime. If we work unscheduled hours on public holidays, it's yea much and if it's scheduled hours it's that much and if it's on Sunday or Thursday or before eight or after seven -

Payroll should know what rate is due for what hours, and it should be up to them and their spreadsheets to see that the correct rate gets paid. But it isn't. It's up to the worker to claim any additional hours or enhanced rates, and while I hate to be cynical it's amazing how complicated most systems seem to make it. With, of course, the implied threat of fraud charges hanging around in the background if you make an invalid claim.

If you still have the paperwork go back through what hours she worked, and if she's owed overtime (especially if she's owed overtime for working extended and/or unsocial hours) then see to it that she gets what she's due.

Or wasn't her work worth $27 an hour? I bet it was at the time.

Having read all your comments, it sounds like she doesn't have a case. But anyone can sue anyone else if they're so motivated. Since you both went through a third-party system, it sounds like you've acted in a legal and honorable way by paying her based on what she submitted.

If your father's aide was not paid the time-and-a-half rate for overtime it would be for you to take it up with agency who employed her as well as she going after it herself.
She should go immediately to the Labor Board because if she is owed this money she deserves to be paid.
When you work overtime do you get your overtime pay? Or do you tell your employer that's okay, they don't have to give it over because they use an outside service to do their payroll.
Make sure the help gets paid what they are owed. Even if this means you pay it out-of-pocket yourself.
Just because you were able to get around probating your father's house and it passed directly to you, does not mean that your father's debts don't have to be paid.
Pay the caregiver's what they are owed. Do what's right and don't screw over the help. Care agencies do it all the time.
Be better than they are.

Just read ur reply to me. I really don't see how she has a leg to stand on. Did she sign her timesheet and keep a copy? She would have to prove you altered her time sheet. Hope you kept copies but then you have your payroll service. If she sues you, she has to prove she was not paid. By doing that, she needs to show her timesheets and then you match them up to the hours she was paid for. Payroll service can provide those records. If she chose not to put in for OT, she can't ask for it now. If there were discrepancies in her checks, it should have been brought to your attention when they were found. I think she is fishing. If there was a line of credit, Dad had debt, right. That line of credit needs to be paid back. So, even though you handled sending in her hours, Dad was her employer. Now he is gone, and ur not responsible for his debts. The estate is and there isn't an estate. Nothing to probate, no estate.

If she has no proof she was short changed then I don't see a lawyer even bothering to take the case. She would pay more in lawyer fees than u may owe. She could have quit too if she felt she was not getting paid enough. May want to call the Labor Board and see how you could handle this. You did everything on the up and up. She signed and cashed her checks so that to me means she found no discrepancies.

Has she actually brought charges against you? Like providing an itemized bill of OT hours or a letter from a lawyer. She has to prove her case.

The caregiver willingly agreed to be paid at her regular hourly rate for all hours worked. She was paid timely and cashed all checks. I believe there is a three year statute of limitations for filing a suit for this, and it has been 1.5 years so far. There was an estate but it was transferred to me and I am still in possession of it. I will check with an attorney. Thanks.

How was it that over time not paid?

Were the OT hours submitted? If so, were the hours not paid at all or not paid at the overtime rate?

How did this Caregiver send over their hours to the payroll service? Did she claim overtime during employment? If not, IMO she can't now. The payroll service should be able to send you their records. A W2 needs to be provided every year. If she never claimed over-time thats on her. If she claimed over-time and was not paid, then she needs to prove it showing her time sheet and that she called the service about the error. If her timesheet does not match the one she sent payroll, then I would say she may have changed hers and you need the original for her to prove no changes were made. (White out does not show up on copies) If there was an error by the service, and she complained, it would have been corrected on the next pay check. Rarely do payroll services issue a separate check.

TG you used a payroll service. You have legal records to back you up. So I don't think you have anything to worry about. No monetary estate, no trying to collect back pay. Since u were wise to have a payroll service hope you had a contract with her too.

The caregiver can attempt to come after the estate and assets. As to whether they can come after the deed of transfer that avoided probate, I doubt it. Moreover you agreed to this payment and I would assume you were current with payments? If there has been no suit brought against you by now I would seriously doubt there will be.

I would check with a Trust and Estate Attorney, but I believe if there is no estate then there is no estate, and bills are sent back with "Deceased; no estate". I cannot know how much you feel this person will claim he or she is owed, but if it is substantial they may contact their own attorney to begin with a lawyer letter to you about funds they feels still owed.

Good luck. For legal advice be certain to check the experts--that is to say attorneys--for advice. We are only a Forum. An hour of time with an expert can save a world of woe.