The Washington Supreme Court’s recent decision means that many overnight and live‑in caregiver hours that were not previously paid may now need to be treated as compensable “hours worked,” especially when caregivers are required to remain on‑site and available for emergencies. This has significant implications for staffing models, payroll practices, and compliance in adult family homes across Washington.

The Adult Family Home Council will host a webinar on Wednesday, July 30 at 1:30 p.m. to walk you through what this ruling means for your home. At the end of the webinar, we will be launching a survey to gather data on how many homes and caregivers will be impacted by this decision. To learn more about the survey and have your questions about this ruling answered, please join the July 30 webinar.

To recap the ruling, based on the Court’s reasoning, time is generally considered “hours worked” when a caregiver is required to remain on the premises for the employer’s benefit and must be available to respond immediately to resident needs or emergencies, even if they are allowed to sleep, watch TV, or read during quiet periods. The decision reinforces that “engaged to wait” time is usually compensable: if a caregiver cannot freely leave the home, must arrange a qualified replacement to leave, or is subject to interruption at any time, those hours will likely need to be paid and included in overtime calculations.

Below are answers to several of the questions providers asked, using the framework from the ruling:

•     If a live‑in caregiver is allowed to sleep overnight but must stay on the premises to be available for emergency evacuation or other resident needs, those hours are very likely “hours worked” because the caregiver is not free to leave and remains under the employer’s control.

•     If a caregiver is required to remain at the adult family home overnight, even with rare interruptions, the fact that they cannot leave the worksite and must respond if something happens typically makes that time compensable.

•     If a caregiver cannot leave the property without arranging a qualified caregiver to replace them, that restriction strongly suggests they are “engaged to wait” and entitled to wages for the entire time they are required to remain available.

•     When a caregiver spends the night sleeping but is expected to respond if a resident falls, wanders, has a medical emergency, or otherwise needs assistance, those hours will generally be treated as hours worked, even if no calls actually occur.

•     If a caregiver wants to leave but cannot do so until another caregiver arrives to relieve them, they are typically considered to be working until they are relieved because they remain responsible for residents and under the employer’s control.

•     When licensing rules require sufficient staff on‑site at all times to respond to emergencies, and the caregiver fulfills that requirement by remaining overnight, the Court’s logic supports treating those hours as compensable work time rather than unpaid sleep time.

•     If a caregiver may watch television, read, or sleep during quiet hours but cannot ignore resident needs or leave the premises, that time is usually compensable “engaged to wait” rather than off‑duty personal time.

We also want to acknowledge the broader concerns you raised:

•     Many of you expressed worry that paying full wages for overnight hours could make your current business models unsustainable, especially for homes serving only low‑income Medicaid residents. The AFH Council is collecting data through the survey so we can document how many homes may need to change operations or risk closure, and use that information to advocate for rate adjustments and policy solutions with state agencies and legislators.

Because each home’s situation is unique, and because many of your questions turn on detailed facts, we encourage you to attend the webinar to receive updated guidance, and ask follow‑up questions.