I am a live in caregiver. I work 7 days a week and don't get a day off. I live rent free and am paid 400.00 per week. What are my rights?

It depends on your state's laws - your employer may be able to give you little notice. But if you have no written employment contract and they've been paying you in cash, there's no real "proof" you've been working as a caregiver... therefore they may need to abide by housing laws (like 30-day eviction notice). When you move on to your next job, please follow the labor laws for caregiving in CA.

In my state (MN) there are labor laws specific to caregiving. No caregiver is considered "contract" and is therefore an actual employee of whomever hired them (the PoA or the person requiring the care). This means there needs to be a written agreement outlining expectations, like # of hours per week, hourly wage (no less than minimum) and time-off/vacation. The caregiver is not paid in cash which means the employer has been withholding and contributing to their SS and Medicare and following all other labor and tax laws. At the end of the year the employee receives a W2.

Without a written contract, and if the person who hired you is paying in cash, you may not have "proof" of employment. After checking the laws in your state, I'd get things in writing. IMO being on call 24/7 with no breaks is like slave labor. They are taking advantage of you.

You are an employee that is losing their job because the assignment is ending due to death.

What rights are you referring to? A free place to live? Continued weekly pay? Time to find a new client? What?

Regardless of all the talk about slave labor, you agreed to this situation and that makes it completely legal. (Nothing personal Geaton, agreement changes things.)

You should plan on being out of her home as soon as possible, because the most you will get is 30 days through the courts. And you don't want a lawsuit or eviction on your record if you plan on continuing to be a caregiver. It will hurt your chances for future employment and the ability to rent a place.

Live and learn. Get the end of life expectations in writing with your next client and move on.

Your 'rights' are going to depend on how they pay you.
Do you get paid in cash with no paper trail of proof that you work there?
If such is the case and the family doesn't want to be fair and reasonable about giving you some time to find another position, there are a few things you can do if you have to.
You can go to the housing authority in the town and tell them you're a boarder and pay weekly to live in the house and to keep the lady company when she was living. This will afford you some renter's rights and they will have to formally evict you.
Or if the family was paying in cash, they could get in trouble for not taking out for social security, Medicare, taxes, etc...
Again, these options are last resorts if the family decides to not be reasonable about giving you some time to find a new position.
If you've been with your client seven days a week for near to four years, then chances are her family will be decent to you and there won't be need to worry.
If they're not decent about it then you can nail them and should. If you make them aware of these things I've just told you, then it's likely they'll be reasonable to you even if they were inclined not to be. Good luck and I hope you find another position soon. Make sure on your next position you get things in writing and demand time off.

I suppose that you should somehow prepare as best that you can for the end in sight. After all, you are working for elderly people who are going to die at some point.

I understand that it is very hard to prepare if you are living paycheck to paycheck. These are impossible situations. Unless a person has been in your shoes and live below the poverty level they won’t understand.

This is why we desperately need safety nets in place for these situations. I do hope it all works out well for you and you do not become homeless. No one should become homeless. It’s an awful place to be.

I will always remember my father telling me as a teenager when I accepted my very first job, to never quit a job without finding another one first. I followed his advice my whole life.

Times aren’t as simple nowadays. Pay for caregivers is next to nothing. It can become complicated in many ways due to expenses that we have that we didn’t have in the past. Plus, the cost of living is astronomical in California!

Wishing the best for you and perhaps discuss this situation with your next employer and see what they may be willing to offer, such as some type of severance pay. Don’t agree to be paid in cash. Good luck.

So, you have nowhere to go once this client passes? I figured that working 24/7 u are getting 2.38 an hour. Way under the minimum wage of 12.O0 for 2021.

There are laws in place for "live in" aides. You are an employee and ur employer should have been paying you minimum wage and taking out taxes and SS and matching that SS. The room is a perk. You can only work 40 hrs anything over is time and half. You deserve time off and they provide someone to be there when you aren't. And an agreement needs to be written up to protect u and a client which I gather none of this was done.

The only thing I can see you doing is refusing to leave and allow them to evict you. This does not happen overnight. That will give you some time to find another place. They are not obligated to make sure you have a place to live. You should have had a back up plan all along. You must have realized this would not have lasted forever.

Can you give us more information as to how you ended up in this situation?

How do you know this lady? Did you respond to an ad in the paper? Was it a referral?

Does she pay you in cash or by check? Did you file a tax return? If so, what is the address on that tax return? If not, you need to file back taxes and one of the big chains like H&R Block can help you for a reasonable fee.

Do you have any kind of paper trail for your time?

Anyone who can or is willing to help you in any official capacity will ask you for documentation to prove that you've been residing there and have been her caregiver. What about the neighbors? Will any of them help you establish proof that you've been living there as her caregiver?

When she dies, you may have a claim against her estate for back pay. You may want to consider calling your local newspaper and telling your story because you've been working under conditions that very much seem to violate labor laws.

And who told you that the lady is going to die within a week??? Was it a family member? Was it a hospice nurse?

You should check with the labor board in your area about your rights as an employee.

According to poster's profile, she lives in California.

You have the right to file a complaint with the DOL for violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act for not making minimum wage. They can get you back pay.