1796.29. The department shall do all of the following in the administration of the home care aide registry:
(a) Establish and maintain on the department’s Internet Web site the registry of registered home care aides and home care aide applicants.
(1) To expedite the ability of a consumer to determine if a registered home care aide or home care aide applicant has passed a background examination, pursuant to Section 1796.23, the Internet Web site shall enable consumers to look up the registration status by providing the registered home care aide’s or home care aide applicant’s name and registration number. The Internet Web site shall provide the registration status, the registration expiration date, and, if applicable, the home care organization with which the affiliated home care aide is associated.
(2) The Internet Web site shall not provide any additional, individually identifiable information about a registered home care aide or home care aide applicant. The department may request and may maintain additional information for registered home care aides or home care aide applicants, as necessary for the administration of this chapter, that shall not be publicly available on the home care aide registry.
(b) Update the home care aide registry upon receiving notification from a home care organization that an affiliated home care aide is no longer employed by the home care organization.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter to the contrary, information regarding a registered home care aide or registered home care aide applicant is not subject to public disclosure pursuant to this chapter, except as provided in subdivision (d).
(d) (1) For any new registration or renewal of registration occurring on and after July 1, 2019, the department shall provide an electronic copy of a registered home care aide’s name, telephone number, and cellular telephone number on file with the department, upon its request, to a labor organization in which a provider of in-home supportive services, as described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 12300) of Chapter 3 of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or a registered home care aide, already participates and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers of home care aides concerning access to training, grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work. The labor organization shall not use this information for any purpose other than employee organizing, representation, and assistance activities. The labor organization shall not disclose this information to any other party.
(2) The department shall establish a simple opt-out procedure by which a registered home care aide or registered home care aide applicant may request that his or her contact information on file with the department not be disclosed in response to a request described in paragraph (1).
(e) At the time of any registration or renewal of registration occurring on and after July 1, 2019, the department shall do both of the following:
(1) Provide a written notice to the registering or registered home care aide that his or her information may be shared with a labor organization, as described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d).
(2) Provide written instructions on how to utilize the simple opt-out procedure described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (d).
(f) This section applies solely to an individual who provides services as a home care aide under this chapter.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 917, Sec. 2. (AB 2455) Effective January 1, 2019.)