Workers' Comp for Household Employers

States with domestic-specific thresholds

State	Domestic rule	Details	Source level
Arizona	casual exemption	Casual domestic employment at/under 20 days per quarter not covered	two-source
California	wage threshold	Household employees covered once quarterly cash wages cross DIR threshold — verify current figure with DIR	verify
Iowa	$1,500+ / 12 months	Domestic/casual earning under $1,500 in 12 months exempt	official
Maine	casual exemption	Casual/home-based work may fall under limited exemptions ($25k EL requirement)	two-source
Massachusetts	16+ hrs/week	Domestic workers 16+ hrs/week must be covered; under 16 exempt	official
Nevada	>20 days casual	Casual domestic employment lasting 20 days or fewer exempt	official
New York	40+ hrs/week	Coverage required for domestic workers working 40+ hrs/week; voluntary below (NYSIF official)	official
Ohio	$160+ per quarter	Domestic employer paying $160+ in any calendar quarter must cover (Ohio BWC official)	official
South Carolina	4+ domestic	Domestic service coverage required at 4+ employees (per household-employer reference)	two-source

All other states

In the remaining states, the general employee threshold applies to domestic workers too — but several impose hour/wage lines similar to those above. Always verify with the official agency:

Sources: state agencies (Ohio BWC, NYSIF, Mass.gov) and household-employer references, cross-checked with our 51-state dataset. Fetched 2026-09. Even where optional, domestic coverage is cheap and personal-injury exposure is not. See also: construction · agriculture.