Summary

This legal research brief details the current legal framework governing the actual or potential exclusion of California homecare workers from taxes or public benefits. This research informs how the Retirement Paradox team is approaching worker surveys and interviews, and it also was identified by our community partners as of immediate practical significance to worker members navigating these complex systems. Exclusion from taxes or benefits may be driven either by whether the worker lives with the client or by whether the two have a close family relationship. The specifics vary with legal context and interact both with California laws specific to the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program and with whether an agency, not only the client, acts as the worker’s employer.