Your personnel policies must cover these topics at minimum:
- Hiring procedures and background check policy
- Employee conduct and professionalism standards
- Discrimination and harassment prevention
- Complaint and grievance procedures
- Disciplinary process and grounds for termination
- Employee privacy policy
- Training and certification requirements
- Reporting requirements (abuse, neglect, etc.)
What the Law Says (HSC § 1796.43)
California law has specific rules your personnel policies must cover:
- Background checks before client contact. Everyone on your team who touches clients — staff, volunteers, employees — must pass a background check BEFORE they have any contact with clients or their private info (§ 1796.43(a)(1)). No exceptions.
- TB testing for aides. Your home care aides must prove they are free of active tuberculosis (§ 1796.43(a)(2)). Build this into your hiring checklist.
- Tell CDSS right away when someone leaves. When an aide stops working for you, you must immediately notify the department (§ 1796.43(a)(3)). Your policies should spell out who handles this and how.
Your personnel policies need to address all three of these. If a CDSS reviewer reads your document and these are missing, expect questions.
