​Effective January 1, a new Connecticut state law now require home care agencies to conduct a local and national criminal background check of prospective employees. Also, under the Paid Family and Medical Leave Act, benefit payments begin for approved paid leave benefit applications.

​Chicago employers of domestic workers must provide workers, including home care workers, with a written contact beginning January 1, 2022, under a new ordinance enacted by the Chicago City Council. The ordinance applies to businesses and individuals in Chicago that employ “domestic workers,” including persons whose primary duties include housekeeping, nanny services, caregiving, personal care, or home health services. The contract, which must be written in the worker’s primary languages as requested by the worker, must include the wage and the work schedule agreed upon by the employer and the domestic worker.

Steven Landers, MD, MPH, President & CEO of VNA Health Group, has been at the forefront of exploring ways to address the “people problem” in the U.S. healthcare industry, where there aren’t enough available caregivers to meet the needs of the public. He recently posted a blog suggesting that addressing education, immigration, and regulation is key to solving this crisis. 

​HCAOA announced this week that Greg Gorton of Right at Home in Grand Blanc, Michigan is the 2021 Caregiver of the Year. Gorton was selected as the top home caregiver in the country from nearly 250 nominees from 41 states. Gorton will be recognized Wednesday at a special event at the Michigan State Capitol.

​Last month, the HCAOA California Chapter held a meeting focused on the state's vaccine mandate for home care workers and issues with the Guardian System. HCAOA compiled members’ questions and speakers Jennifer Nicklas, DSS Home Care Services Bureau Chief, and Atty. Elizabeth Murphy, JacksonLewis, agreed to provide answers as a follow up.

​Home care agencies have many questions about COVID-19 vaccine mandates, testing requirements, and what this means for them as employers. The HCAOA Arizona Chapter will host an expert labor law attorney for an important Chapter meeting on Wednesday, November 17 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. in Phoenix to discuss legal issues and questions surrounding the COVID vaccine mandate and answer all members’ questions in real time. 

​Last week, OSHA sent its draft emergency temporary standard (ETS) to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review. The ETS, which comes from President Biden’s COVID-19 Action Plan, requires businesses with 100 or more employees require workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine or be tested weekly. HCAOA has requested a meeting with OIRA to discuss the impact of the mandates on the critical home care workforce shortage that is hitting at this time.  

​The secret to becoming a master home care agency? Rely less on private pay, recruit well 
Diversified payer streams, low turnover, better training and top-notch recruitment are what separate the so-called men from the boys in the home care industry. That’s the word from Erik Madsen, CEO of home care intelligence platform Home Care Pulse. Madsen made his comments during a Home Care Association of American Learning Lab on Tuesday.