Hiring caregiver on my own

M5M

I'm looking for input on hiring a caregiver. I have tentatively identified a candidate experienced in Alz caregiving and used by people I vaguely know. I was told the candidate is "dependable and nothing was ever missing." It was a very brief conversation with that one reference and I want to dig to see if there are issues. I have significant experience interviewing people overall and not concerned about that part.....but what other considerations should I have?

I will likely pay this person cash (their request). I think I read that homeowners insurance might provide some coverage for persons working in the home...comments?

Any input on hourly wages? We are in a small-mid sized city in the south. Do you have them sign any paperwork, contract, job description? Sample of job description?

What have I left out?

M1

I have a hunch that if you pay cash, your insurance would deny any coverage because you won't have an employment record. Just bear that in mind.

rplourde50

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/67972/hiring-caregiver-on-my-own

Paying $25/h cash in Southern California for a comparison. Went through Care.com, which vets them with a simple background check and some references.

Pat6177

Homeowners insurance - my understanding is that you should add workman’s comp insurance if you have someone working in your home. You need to think about what would happen if the caregiver hurts herself while on your premises.

Paying her cash is one thing. But you need to consider if you will be withholding state and federal taxes and social security taxes. It gets into the whole question of employee vs independent contractor.

I have not looked into it but have read that Care.com will do paychecks including the proper tax withholdings, submitting the taxes to the proper govt agency and year end tax forms.

I don’t know what your financial and tax situation is. You might want to chat with a CPA and/or a lawyer. I understand that the caregiver wants to avoid paying taxes but it means that you are assuming certain risks that you should understand. And I would suggest that you not take a tax deduction for medical expenses if you don’t follow the tax rules.

Cecil Jones

My personal opinion, if you're paying this individual under the table (so to speak)? The less paperwork you have the best for you if it doesn't work out. Sometimes it's easier to release a employee with no reason than with. I'd tread carefully signing or getting anyone to sign anything. Just my thinking.

trottingalong

If you are choosing to pay cash, the person you are paying would be foolish to sign anything that could prove they were being paid. Paying cash means absolutely no record anywhere. They are working under the table. Can’t have it both ways. With that said, should something happen in your home to either the caregiver, or your LO, you could end up in a very liable position. I would think twice before putting yourself in that position. It could be a lawsuit waiting to happen, no matter how honest the person is today. Things can change in an instant.

sorry for being so negative, but in my life I have run into issues of paying under the table.

ImMaggieMae

How would this differ from hiring a house cleaner and paying them cash?

SSHarkey

I wouldn’t be comfortable with this arrangement unless I knew the individual personally. I have used the “Visiting Angels” organization with very good results. They’re structured to allow personal input, the workers are bonded.

Pat6177

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/196390#Comment_196390

Similar situation. But, a house cleaner usually has many other clients and provide their own tools and supplies. These are indications that they are independent contractors. And independent contractors are responsible for paying their own taxes, etc.

And if the caregiver is providing services to several other people at the same time as they are providing care to your PWD, they may qualify as independent contractors.

I believe, technically you are required to provide the person with a 1099 (independent contractor) or W-2 (employee) if you paid them over a certain amt during the year (used to be $6,000).

Either way, it’s worth asking your insurance agent if you should add a Workman’s Comp policy. If you have had any kind of medical care lately, it seems that all the forms ask if your issue was due to an accident. Insurance companies want to assign liability out whenever possible and the caregiver’s insurance company will come to you if the caregiver had an injury on your property.

Gig Harbor

Check their social media pages if they have them to see what they do on their off time. I would consider paying for a service that does background checks too.

Joe C.

There are some downsides to paying cash. If you reach the cost level where you could deduct the care expenses on your federal/state tax returns I doubt you could take these deductions if paying cash unless you issued a 1099 form for there wages. If the individual gets injured in your home that could really open up a lot of issues.

M5M

Thanks to all for the various responses…..i will investigate care.com, maybe the person can enroll there. The insurance issue does concern me and that could work.

harshedbuzz

I know of people that have been successful hiring via word of mouth or Care.com.

I would consult your insurance agent as well as a tax specialist or attorney. How often the person would be coming in will factor into this. If you are looking to deduct this on your taxes will also factor in to it. If this is so you can work a Dependent Care Credit and FSA might be more beneficial to you.

You may be able to pay them as a contractor, but if they're looking to skirt taxes (work under the table) this won't suit them. And while the reference says "they never took anything" you'd have to question their honesty unless the individual is just as very occasional informal arrangement, and you aren't looking to deduct the expense.

IJBOL @Gig Harbor My mom went through a number of candidates sent from an agency-- as is often the case, they sent the people they had who weren't popular with other clients or where brand new/inexperienced. It was a while before we landed on a young woman who was a great fit. Dad warmed to her and didn't mind her visits and mom really liked her. I checked her Facebook and it was all about legalizing weed. My parents went to college in the late '60s/early '70s, so this wasn't an issue for them aside from dad wishing maybe she shared.

HB

Chammer

Annual amount that falls under the requirement for a 1099 for contracted workers is $600/yr.

Pat6177

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/196450#Comment_196450

Thanks Chammer, I should have looked that up!

housefinch

Somewhat different situation but we had a nanny (not a live-in person) for 2 years for 32 hours/week for our disabled child who couldn’t attend a typical daycare. We found her on Care.com and paid her through a service called Nannychex. They handled all the taxes, social security deductions, etc, and sent her and us all appropriate tax documents and filing information each year. It was well worth the small added expense to avoid the headaches of calculating it ourselves. After we transitioned our child to school and no longer needed her, I learned we should have bought a worker’s compensation policy for an in-home employee. Our homeowners policy from State Farm, otherwise excellent, did not cover anyone working at our home. Oops.