HR and caregiver policies for staff you employ
By Scott McKenzie, founder of Home Care Agency Blueprint · Updated
HR policies tell caregivers what you expect and what they can expect from you. Most manuals cover conduct and boundaries, confidentiality, timekeeping and pay practices, training records, supervision, discipline and personnel files. Your state’s licensing and labor rules may require specific content, and federal wage rules for home care workers are changing.
Policies most manuals include
- Conduct and boundaries: gifts, money, borrowing, personal relationships, phone use, rides and visitors during shifts.
- Confidentiality: what caregivers may not share about clients, on or off the job, including on social media.
- Timekeeping: how hours, travel between clients and overtime are recorded.
- Training records: you keep a record of each caregiver’s training and follow your state’s training rules.
- Supervision: who supervises each caregiver, and how competency is checked.
- Discipline: the steps you take when a policy is broken, applied the same way to everyone.
- Personnel files: what goes in each file, who may see it, and how long you keep it.
Training hours and topics differ by state. homecaretrainingprograms.com, also published by Home Care Agency Blueprint, covers caregiver training requirements.
Wage and overtime rules are changing
A U.S. Department of Labor rule from 2013 bars third-party employers such as home care agencies from claiming the companionship services and live-in exemptions from federal minimum wage and overtime pay. In July 2025 the department proposed rescinding that rule, and its Wage and Hour Division has suspended enforcement of it while the rulemaking continues. The suspension does not change the rule itself: until a final rule takes effect, the 2013 rule remains in the federal regulations, and in April 2026 a federal appeals court (the Sixth Circuit) upheld it. State wage laws still apply and may require more. Check the current federal status and your state’s rules, ideally with an employment lawyer or payroll provider, before you set pay and overtime practices.
We do not publish pay rates or wage figures.
Hiring is a separate topic
This page covers written policies for staff you already employ. Job postings, screening, background checks and new-hire paperwork are covered by homecarerecruitmentguide.com, also published by Home Care Agency Blueprint.
A template is a starting draft. A purchased or downloaded manual can save typing, but it may describe another state’s rules, services you do not offer or steps your staff do not follow. Rewrite each policy for how your agency actually works, date it, train staff on it, and check it against your state’s rules.
Your state sets the details. Your state’s licensing rules decide which written policies a home care agency needs and what they cover. This site does not list state requirements. Check with your state licensing agency; homecarelicenseguide.com, also published by Home Care Agency Blueprint, collects each state’s licensing sources. Not legal advice. Check with counsel and your state licensing agency.
What to do next
Frequently asked questions
Should caregivers sign the HR policies?
Asking staff to sign that they received and were trained on each policy gives you a record. Check whether your state’s rules ask for a specific acknowledgment.
Can I copy my pay practices from another agency?
Pay practices depend on federal and state wage law, which is changing for home care workers. Check the current rules with an employment lawyer or payroll provider rather than copying another agency.
Want to talk through your options?
A free 15-minute clarity call with Home Care Agency Blueprint. It helps people start home care agencies, so expect that perspective. You do not need a finished manual first.
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