(

a) The county, or the public authority or nonprofit consortium established pursuant to

Section 12301.6, shall be deemed to be the employer to meet and confer in good faith, in accordance with

Chapter 10 (commencing with

Section 3500) of Division of Title of the Government Code, regarding wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment of individuals providing waiver personal care services pursuant to

Section 14132.97. For purposes of this section, bargaining unit placement pursuant to

Section 3507.1 of the Government Code, and waiver personal care services, individuals providing waiver personal care services shall be deemed a part of the established bargaining unit of in-home supportive services providers of an employer of record described in

Section 12301.6 in the county in which the individual delivers waiver personal care services. (

b) Recipients shall retain the right to hire, fire, and supervise the work of any waiver personal care services personnel providing services to them. (

c) For service dates on or after the effective date specified in the applicable federal approval obtained by the department pursuant to subdivision (e), wages, benefits, and all other terms and conditions of employment for individuals providing waiver personal care services pursuant to

Section 14132.97 shall be equal to the wages, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment in the respective county for the individual provider mode of services in the In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program pursuant to

Article 7 (commencing with

Section 12300) of

Chapter 3. (

d) If eligibility for benefits requires a provider to work a threshold number of hours, eligibility shall be determined based on the aggregate number of monthly hours worked between IHSS and waiver personal care services. (

e) This

section shall be implemented only to the extent that any necessary federal approvals are obtained and federal financial participation is available and not otherwise jeopardized.