Agency or private caregiver: what changes in California?

What a licensed agency takes on

The Department of Social Services says a licensed agency must have its caregivers registered, background-checked and free of active tuberculosis, and accepts all employer responsibilities for them.¹

What you take on by hiring privately

We have not verified every household-employer rule. Check the current Household Employer’s Guide from the department, and confirm any workers’ compensation and overtime duties with the Department of Industrial Relations before you hire.

• You are the employer. The Department of Social Services says that when you hire an individual directly, you are the one responsible as the employer.¹
• The Employment Development Department lists home health care workers among household employees. A household employer must register with the department when it pays cash wages of $750 or more in a calendar quarter.²
• The Department of Social Services has no oversight of unlicensed referral services or private hires.¹

How to decide

• You want someone to cover sick days and vacations: an agency usually can.
• You want to manage payroll and scheduling yourself and are comfortable being the employer: a private hire can work.
• You want the state to have licensed and registered the caregiver: choose a licensed agency and check the license.

Compare on the same basis

Add the employer costs and your own time to a private hire’s hourly rate before comparing it with an agency’s rate. See how much home care costs in Los Angeles.