By the Unified Savers Editorial Team
SB 525 coverage determinations for specific employer types are ongoing. Contact SEIU 2015 at 1-877-734-8673 or the California Department of Industrial Relations for questions about how SB 525 applies to your employment situation.
California’s SB 525 — the landmark healthcare minimum wage law signed in 2023 — is reaching its highest implementation milestones in 2026, pushing minimum wages for most healthcare facility workers to $25 per hour. But IHSS home care providers, who perform comparable personal care tasks in recipients’ homes, are largely excluded from SB 525’s coverage, creating a widening pay gap that is fueling intensified county bargaining fights and new legislative pressure in Sacramento.
What SB 525 Does (and Doesn’t Cover)
SB 525 established a phased minimum wage schedule for “covered health care employees” — workers employed at hospitals, clinics, dialysis centers, skilled nursing facilities, and related entities. The law is phasing in minimum wages on a schedule that reaches $25/hour for the largest covered employer categories by 2026.
Who SB 525 covers:
- Hospital and health system employees (including support and ancillary workers)
- Skilled nursing facility staff
- Dialysis clinic workers
- Home health agency employees (those employed by licensed agencies)
Who SB 525 does NOT cover:
- IHSS providers operating through the Public Authority model — the vast majority of California’s 700,000+ IHSS providers
- Self-employed or independent caregivers not on a licensed agency payroll
- Workers at employer organizations with fewer than 10 employees (in most categories)
The exclusion of Public Authority IHSS providers is rooted in the “co-employer” structure of the program, in which the recipient is the employer of record for most purposes. Public Authority entities administering IHSS are not licensed home health agencies and do not meet the “covered health care facility” definition under SB 525.
The Growing Pay Disparity
The gap between SB 525 workers and IHSS providers is now significant and widening:
| Worker Category | Minimum Wage as of July 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hospital workers (SB 525) | $25.00/hour |
| Home health agency aides (SB 525) | $25.00/hour |
| IHSS providers — San Francisco County | $23.55/hour |
| IHSS providers — Los Angeles County | $19.10/hour |
| IHSS providers — Fresno County | $17.90/hour |
| IHSS providers — state minimum counties | $17.00/hour |
A certified nursing assistant at a hospital in Fresno earns at least $25/hour under SB 525. An IHSS provider in Fresno doing similar personal care tasks — bathing, dressing, transferring — earns $17.90/hour. The $7.10 hourly gap, on a full-time schedule, translates to roughly $14,768 per year in lost income.
This disparity is creating direct workforce competition: home health agencies and care facilities subject to SB 525 are actively recruiting IHSS providers with offers of higher wages and more structured work environments. Several San Joaquin Valley counties report that the SB 525 phase-in has accelerated IHSS provider attrition, with experienced caregivers leaving the IHSS program for agency positions.
Legislative Response: AB 2247 and the Parity Push
Assembly Member Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) introduced AB 2247 in February 2026 to establish a statewide minimum IHSS wage floor of $21 per hour, effective January 1, 2027. The bill is explicitly framed as a partial parity measure with SB 525.
AB 2247 passed the Assembly on a 52-24 vote in June 2026 and is currently in the Senate Human Services Committee. A Senate floor vote is expected in August or September 2026.
If AB 2247 becomes law:
- All 58 counties would be required to pay IHSS providers at least $21/hour, regardless of county CBA outcomes
- Counties currently above $21/hour (San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda) would not be affected — their existing CBAs set higher floors
- Approximately 28 counties currently below $21/hour would need to increase wages by the January 2027 effective date
- The state would be responsible for funding the county share of wage increases above local bargaining commitments (this cost-sharing mechanism is the central legislative dispute)
The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) opposes AB 2247, arguing that without guaranteed state funding, counties cannot absorb mandated wage increases. SEIU 2015 counters that the state already bears significant IHSS wage costs through the maintenance-of-effort formula and that AB 2247 simply codifies what the Dignity Wages bargaining campaign would achieve county by county over several years.
How Providers Can Use SB 525 as a Bargaining Reference
Even though SB 525 does not directly cover IHSS Public Authority providers, it is a powerful reference point in county bargaining sessions. SEIU 2015 negotiators in multiple counties have introduced SB 525 wage schedules as documentary evidence of the market rate for comparable care work in bargaining sessions with county supervisors.
If you attend a county board of supervisors meeting on IHSS wages:
- Bring printed SB 525 wage schedules showing what home health agency workers in your county now earn
- Ask supervisors whether they believe identical care tasks are worth $25/hour in a facility and $17 or $18/hour in a home
- Cite specific examples of providers who left the IHSS program for SB 525-covered agency positions
SEIU 2015 has developed a “SB 525 Parity Toolkit” for members testifying at county budget and bargaining hearings. Request the toolkit from your SEIU 2015 regional office or at seiu2015.org.
The outcome of AB 2247 in the Senate and the county-by-county Dignity Wages bargaining rounds will determine whether IHSS providers begin to close the SB 525 gap in 2027 — or whether the disparity continues to grow as SB 525’s final phase-in milestones arrive.
Additional Resources on Unified Savers:
- SEIU 2015 Dignity Wages Campaign 2026 — Details on the statewide wage campaign
- IHSS Pay Rate California 2026 — Current wages by county
- IHSS Union Benefits SEIU 2015 — Benefits and resources for SEIU members