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Resources for California Domestic Employers

  • Guidance for All Domestic Employers
  • Guidance for Nanny Employers
  • Guidance for Home Attendant Employers
  • Guidance for House Cleaner Employers
Guidance for All Domestic Employers

Guidance for All Domestic Employers

We know it can be overwhelming to understand what the best practices are when employing someone in your home. At Hand in Hand, we’re committed to providing resources and guidance so that every home in California can be a fair workplace. Thank you for doing your part.

Communicating with the Worker in Your Home

Open and respectful communication is at the heart of any good relationship. Below are some communication best practices for creating a positive employment relationship with the nanny, house cleaner, and home attendant that supports you in your home.

  • Communication Best Practices
  • Having Difficult Conversations

Paying A Fair Wage

We rely on the people we hire in our homes for care and support, in turn its important to pay a fair wage. Learn more…

Establishing Paid Time Off

Time off — including medical and sick leave — will ensure that your employee is rested and healthy and ready to do their job well.

Here are some guiding principles around offering paid time off:

  • For full-time employees, provide at least 5 paid sick days per year; and for part-time employees, 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.
  • For full-time employees, provide at least 2 weeks of paid vacation per year; and for part-time employees, 1 hour for every 20 hours worked.
  • Any unused vacation should be paid out as additional pay when the agreement comes up for an annual review or when the worker leaves the job- whichever the employee and employer agree to.
  • Provide the standard 8 paid government holidays or agreed upon holidays of the employee’s choice. If an employee agrees to work on any of these holidays, they should be compensated one-and-a-half times their usual hourly rate.
  • Try to provide at least 6 weeks of paid family or medical leave, with guaranteed employment upon return.

Sign the Fair Care Pledge

Commit to fair employment practices. Take the Fair Care Pledge Today!

Guidance for Nanny Employers

Guidance for Nanny Employers

Hiring

So you’ve decided that you are going to hire a nanny, congratulations!  Check out our helpful Interview Tips and Tips for a Putting Together a Nanny Share in California to make the process successful.

Contracts/Agreements

Establishing a contract or written agreement is a fundamental part of a good working relationship with your nanny. Our sample work agreements are designed to guide you through the process and are meant to be customized to your needs.

  • Childcare Work Agreement
  • National Nanny Share Work Agreement
  • California Nanny Work Agreement 

Timesheets

Employers of domestic workers may use this timesheet template. Domestic workers work in private homes and are hired either directly by a family or through an agency. Domestic workers are nannies, childcare providers in private homes, homecare workers or attendants to people with disabilities or older adults, housecleaners, cooks and gardeners.

  • Domestic Work Time Sheet for Employers

Legal Requirements

California was one of the first states in the country to provide legal rights and protections to domestic workers! The documents below are to help you make sure you are complying with the law. Please note, these are the minimum requirements not best practices. For best practices, please refer to the work agreements above!

  • California Domestic Worker Employer Legal Responsibilities
  • California Overtime Rules
  • Frequently Asked Questions for California Domestic Employers with Live-in or 24-Hour Shift Employees
  • San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Requirements for Domestic Employers
  • 1 page bilingual hand-out on CA legal responsibilities and Hand in Hand

Staying Safe during Natural Disaster Guidelines

  • Fire Season Guidelines
Guidance for Home Attendant Employers

Guidance for Home Attendant Employers

Hiring

Hiring for home care can be a complex process.  People with disabilities, older adults, and their supporters must navigate an array of agencies, evaluate needs, and find qualified attendants.  The process is often overwhelming, especially when individuals or families find themselves at the beginning of this journey. We’ve compiled a few resources to help you during the hiring process:

  • Interview Tips
  • Ableism and Ageism Factsheet
  • Hiring through a Home Care Agency

Contracts/Agreements

Establishing a contract or written agreement is a fundamental part of a good working relationship with the home attendant/s you employ. Our sample home attendant agreement is designed to guide you through the process; feel free to customize it so that it meets your needs.

  • National Home Attendant Work Agreement 
  • California Home Attendant Work Agreement 

Timesheets

Employers of domestic workers may use this timesheet template. Domestic workers work in private homes and are hired either directly by a family or through an agency. Domestic workers are nannies, childcare providers in private homes, homecare workers or attendants to people with disabilities or older adults, housecleaners, cooks and gardeners.

  • Domestic Work Time Sheet for Employers

Legal Requirements

California was one of the first states in the country to provide legal rights and protections to domestic workers! The documents below are to help you make sure you are complying with the law. Please note, these are the minimum requirements, not best practices. For best practices, please refer to the work agreements above!

  • California Domestic Worker Employer Legal Responsibilities
  • California Overtime Rules
  • Frequently Asked Questions for California Domestic Employers with Live-in or 24-Hour Shift Employees
  • San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Requirements for Domestic Employers
  • 1 page bilingual hand-out on CA legal responsibilities and Hand in Hand

Staying Safe Natural Disaster Guidelines

  • Fire Season Guidelines
Guidance for House Cleaner Employers

Guidance for House Cleaner Employers

Hiring

So you’ve decided that you are going to hire a house cleaner, congratulations!  Check out our helpful interview tips to make the process successful.

Contracts/Agreements

Establishing a contract or written agreement is a fundamental part of a good working relationship with the house cleaner/s you employ. Our sample house cleaner agreement is designed to guide you through the process, and it includes options for people that employ house cleaners full-time; feel free to customize it so that it meets your needs.

  • National House Cleaner Work Agreement 
  • California House Cleaner Work Agreement 

Timesheets

Employers of domestic workers may use this timesheet template. Domestic workers work in private homes and are hired either directly by a family or through an agency. Domestic workers are nannies, childcare providers in private homes, homecare workers or attendants to people with disabilities or older adults, housecleaners, cooks and gardeners.

  • Domestic Work Time Sheet for Employers

Legal Requirements

California was one of the first states in the country to provide legal rights and protections to domestic workers! The documents below are to help you make sure you are complying with the law. Please note, these are the minimum requirements, not best practices. For best practices, please refer to the work agreement above.

  • California Domestic Worker Employer Legal Responsibilities
  • California Overtime Rules
  • Frequently Asked Questions for California Domestic Employers with Live-in or 24-Hour Shift Employees
  • San Francisco Paid Sick Leave Requirements for Domestic Employers
  • 1 page bilingual hand-out on CA legal responsibilities and Hand in Hand

Staying Safe during Natural Disaster Guidelines

  • Fire Season Guidelines

Are you the best employer you can be?

Use the Employer Checklist to find out!

Start the Checklist

Recent Blog Posts

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  • Thank You 2022 donors and members!

    Aquila Fund Blue Shield of California Foundation BNY Mellon Community Partnership California Domestic Workers Coalition CARE Fund Caring Across Generations …
  • Victory! Domestic Worker Bill of Rights won in Washington D.C.

    DC Domestic Workers Make History!  On December 20, 2022 domestic workers in Washington D.C. made history by winning a domestic …

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This #MLKDay, we are honoring Dr. King Jr.’s legacy by highlighting his call to “disobey unjust laws” that he wrote about in a Letter from a Birmingham Jail about the injustice of legalized racial segregation.

In 37 states, domestic workers are excluded from basic labor and civil rights laws that protect against harassment and discrimination and unsafe workplaces. Our labor laws have failed domestic workers, who provide such crucial care and support to ourselves, our loved ones and communities.

So today, we commit to disobey these unjust laws, as Dr. King Jr. had called for by joining with domestic workers who are fighting to end their exclusion from rights and protections and demanding access to care for all of our communities.
... See MoreSee Less

2 months ago
This #MLKDay, we are honoring Dr. King Jr.’s legacy by highlighting his call to “disobey unjust laws” that he wrote about in a Letter from a Birmingham Jail about the injustice of legalized racial segregation.

In 37 states, domestic workers are excluded from basic labor and civil rights laws that protect against harassment and discrimination and unsafe workplaces. Our labor laws have failed domestic workers, who provide such crucial care and support to ourselves, our loved ones and communities.

So today, we commit to disobey these unjust laws, as Dr. King Jr. had called for by joining with domestic workers who are fighting to end their exclusion from rights and protections and demanding access to care for all of our communities.
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Just a friendly Friday #Reminder. We do this work because:
"Domestic work makes all other work possible" - National Domestic Workers Alliance

We are in this fight from state to state, city to city, and for a National #DomesticWorkersBillOfRights ✊
... See MoreSee Less

2 months ago
Just a friendly Friday #Reminder. We do this work because:
Domestic work makes all other work possible - National Domestic Workers Alliance 

We are in this fight from state to state, city to city, and for a National #DomesticWorkersBillOfRights ✊
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Powerful piece from Dr. Patricia Campos Medina, a fierce leader in the labor movement and fellow fighter for the rights of #DomesticWorkers in the campaign for a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in NJ, about the need to "support and elevate each other’s humanity . . . we must support laws like the Temp Workers Bill of Rights and the NJ Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that remove racist exclusions from labor rights for workers of color."

This year, we continue our campaign to WIN the #NJDomesticWorkersBillOfRights in 2023!
https://nj.com/opinion/2023/…
... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Make it your business, get involved! Support migrants and those who want to unionize. | Opinion

www.nj.com

For those workers who cannot formally unionize, we must support laws like the Temp Workers Bill of Rights and the NJ Domestic Worker Bill of Rights that remove racist exclusions from labor rights for ...
2 months ago
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Thank you Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network for all you do to put workers dignity and their voices upfront in all you do. It’s an honor to follow and support the leadership of your members and leaders. Onward! ✊🏽💯

We're going IG LIVE this Friday, January 13th at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, with special guest: Patti Maciez! She is the creator of billthepatriarchy.com, a creative project which provides women the opportunity to calculate the value of the work they do at home: “Whether it's cleaning, child care, cooking, emotional labor, household management or driving it all takes time and that time is worth something.”

Patti is also a member of Hand in Hand and an active facilitator of our My Home Is Someone's Workplace workshops. We will be chatting with her about the connections she's discovered between unpaid labor and our work fighting for the rights and protections of #DomesticWorkers.

Come on by our Instagram: @hihdomesticemployers on Friday and listen in!

#BillThePatriarchy Art Patti
... See MoreSee Less

2 months ago
Were going IG LIVE this Friday, January 13th at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, with special guest: Patti Maciez! She is the creator of billthepatriarchy.com, a creative project which provides women the opportunity to calculate the value of the work they do at home: “Whether its cleaning, child care, cooking, emotional labor, household management or driving it all takes time and that time is worth something.”

Patti is also a member of Hand in Hand and an active facilitator of our My Home Is Someones Workplace workshops. We will be chatting with her about the connections shes discovered between unpaid labor and our work fighting for the rights and protections of #DomesticWorkers.

Come on by our Instagram: @hihdomesticemployers on Friday and listen in!

#BillThePatriarchy Art Patti
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It's 2023! Are you feeling that #NewYearNewMe vibe?

Many of us are making resolutions to keep us focused on living our values and growing into more intentional versions of ourselves. It's a great time to also reflect on our domestic employment practices. Are we being the best nanny and/or house cleaner employer we aspire to be?

The #NewYear is a great moment to reset the employment relationship in your home, as well as initiate or revise a written work agreement. A written work agreement is at the heart of establishing clear communication and ensuring shared expectations!

If you don’t have one yet, now is a great time to create one with the worker you employ. To get you started, we're here to help with sample work agreements! Check out our:
Sample Nanny Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/…

Sample Nanny Share Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/…

Sample House Cleaner Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/…

If you already have a written work agreement, the new year is a great time to consult it and see if it needs to be updated:

Have any responsibilities changed over the past year? For instance, did you ask the nanny to do some cooking as well? Or has the cleaner been doing laundry although that wasn’t in the job description when you first hired them?

Make sure these additional responsibilities are included in the work agreement. And if you haven’t added additional compensation for the work yet, now is a great time to remedy that!
... See MoreSee Less

2 months ago
Its 2023! Are you feeling that #NewYearNewMe vibe?

Many of us are making resolutions to keep us focused on living our values and growing into more intentional versions of ourselves. Its a great time to also reflect on our domestic employment practices. Are we being the best nanny and/or house cleaner employer we aspire to be?

The #NewYear is a great moment to reset the employment relationship in your home, as well as initiate or revise a written work agreement. A written work agreement is at the heart of establishing clear communication and ensuring shared expectations!

If you don’t have one yet, now is a great time to create one with the worker you employ. To get you started, were here to help with sample work agreements! Check out our:
Sample Nanny Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/childcare-agreement/?ms=FB

Sample Nanny Share Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/nanny-share-agreement/?ms=FB

Sample House Cleaner Agreement: https://domesticemployers.org/resource/house-cleaner-work-agreement/?ms=FB

If you already have a written work agreement, the new year is a great time to consult it and see if it needs to be updated:

Have any responsibilities changed over the past year? For instance, did you ask the nanny to do some cooking as well?  Or has the cleaner been doing laundry although that wasn’t in the job description when you first hired them?

Make sure these additional responsibilities are included in the work agreement.  And if you haven’t added additional compensation for the work yet, now is a great time to remedy that!
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