Private Caregivers: Independent Contractors or Employees?

It is very tempting to compare the hourly rate of hiring a private caregiver to that of an agency caregiver and conclude that one would save quite a bit of money by hiring the private caregiver. After all, private caregivers usually charge anywhere from $12 - $15 per hour whereas Agency caregivers usually come with an hourly charge of $18 - $22.

There are many reasons for choosing and agency in the face of these numbers:

1. In almost every case the Law requires that private caregivers be treated as employees and NOT contractors. Thus requiring the withholding and payment of employment taxes.
2. If you employ a caregiver privately you should ensure that you have a Workman's Compensation policy that covers your employees. If not, claims against the assets or estate could result.
3. Scheduling, vacations, sick time, hiring and firing and all the other headaches that come along with employees

By the time you take into account the total cost of hiring private caregivers an agency cost model may look like the better deal overall.

Here is an Article from a Law Firm that goes into some of the issues in more details.

http://www.businesslawyerslosangeles.com/pdf/36364_rodireview_part1.pdf