We often come across families that decide to hire a private individual to provide in home care for a loved one. Frequently, it's a nurse, neighbor, friend, or "someone a friend of mine knows" that is brought in to help out. Most often, the caregiver is not affiliated with any company or organization, and are usually hired without consideration of a background check or any type of screening process. Family members likely do not understand the qualifications or legal status of the person they hire, and are unaware of their responsibilities towards taxes, insurance, or liability exposure.
Unfortunately, we just as frequently hear of lawsuits pertaining to issues that may arise from doing this, along with the resultant lost of property and assets. Home Helpers encourages you to give careful consideration to the process of hiring someone to come into your home. Consider these basic questions:
- Who will have the legal responsibility for federal and state taxes, as well as social security for the worker?
- What happens if the person you hire becomes ill and cannot come to work?
- What happens if the person is injured in your home? Most homeowners policies exclude injury to domestic employees. Be sure to check your policy!!
- Is the person legal to work in the US?
- Are you confident about their background or qualifications? Have references been verified, abuse records checked, or criminal backgrounds validated?
- Do you or the employee have insurance to cover property damage, theft, mishaps, etc?
- Is the person bonded? If so, does the bond cover injury and damage related to working in someone's home?
- Is documentation provided that covers the specific services that will be provided, and is there any way to verify this is happening?
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