What percentage of non-family live-in caregivers work without written contracts? Is it common?
This woman was hired through craigslist and wasn't fully candid about her approach to life until over a month after taking residence (caring for mom with dementia, only the two of them live in the house). Part of it involved a sibling not allowing frank screening during the initial phone interview, but that complicates this question too much.
Tax avoidance combined with some apparently radical anti-government views (full extent & practice unknown) is driving her anti-contract mindset, but she's been good otherwise and we're trying to figure out if forcing a contract would wreck the working balance. We're technically going on blind trust, based on nothing outwardly dishonest about her. The nearest one among us is 300 miles away from mom's house.
From web searches: "According to the IRS, if a privately hired / independent caregiver is paid more than $2,100 per year (in 2019), they are considered a household employee, not an independent contractor. Thus, the family hiring the independent caregiver takes on all the responsibilities of being an employer, which includes payroll and taxes."
It would make our lives easier if she didn't become an "employee" but it leaves all parties unprotected if things go sour. One pragmatic problem is that some household duties can't be defined without a contract. This may cause future friction if she doesn't want to do chore X or Y, even if it's not that difficult and shouldn't require hiring outsiders.
Is it reasonable or common for non-family live-in caregivers to shun written contracts?
1. How do you know it's going well?
2. How will you get her to leave when mom dies/needs to go to a NH?
3. How will you account for the under the table payments when mom needs Medicaid for placement in a NH?
4. If she is willing to cheat on paying her taxes, what other dishonest things is she capable of? Using mom's credit cards? Convincing mom to sign over assets, leave her the house?
Just some food for thought.
You must mean Medicare, not Medicaid, and I've read about that concern.
She's already trusted with handling some aspects of money, and it's being monitored via remote banking sessions. There are too many other details to give here.
The gist of my question is how common is lack of a contract and what are the typical reasons given? I'm just surprised it's not legally mandated.
Since your profile mentions that your mom has dementia, does this caregiver have any experience working with such people? This would definitely be an important qualification Then there's the vaccination issue and I'm going to guess this person probably isn't, so there's that danger for your mom (and I don't want to derail this post, I realize people who have been vaccinated are getting the virus as well). Would this caregiver even take your mom to a medical appointment to get a vaccine? In fact, who is taking your mom to her appointments and keeping track of what is said and done and then following up for her?
Your profile says that you live hundreds of miles away with no other siblings local or even in state. I'm hoping you (or another sibling) are your mom's DPoA, and that you've taken measures to protect your mom's financial resources and sensitive information. Your mom is vulnerable and IMO this current arrangement will eventually become a real headache for you and sketchy for your mom. If I were in your position I'd do what it takes to move her close to me, whether she is on board with that or not. The caregiving arrangement can't be onerous to the caregiver and this has all the hallmarks of maybe moving in that direction. Better to improve the situation now than having to try to do it in a crisis.
In my family we've used a caregiving agency because their people are screened, paid and reported legally, can provide subs and aids who are appropriately qualified for different levels of care, and can be easily replaced or fired. Also, if your mom's live-in caregiver always works in cash she won't have much SS to support herself as she gets to her own senior years. Not to mention she's not paying into the system yet will likely need the resources of Medicare and Medicaid herself. I bet she'll gladly use both.
Not sure about your mom's financial resources but if there's any chance she'll need Medicaid, her ability to qualify will need to be protected. This current arrangement may endanger that. You can consult with a Medicaid Planner for her state to figure this out, especially if her state has a 5-year "look back" period for the application.
Long-distance caregiving is difficult on many levels, and I'm sure you're doing the best you can. I encourage you to look past today and into your mom's probable future. It won't take much for your mom to have a fall or stroke and then the poop really hits the fan. Better to do a little more work now than suffer the very stressful consequences later. I wish you much success in working out a solution for your mom and family.
We had a bad experience with a licensed agency that seemed to do poor screening. This was a test of one-night of care, earlier. In other words, the current lady may be as good as it gets, just with caveats.
I guess contract percentages nationwide are hard to know, and contracts aren't legally mandatory.
Then there is everything Brooklyn said. There are a number of posters that had a hard time getting the live-in Caretaker to leave because there was no contract. You really need one in place. I would write one up and have a lawyer review it. It should be notarized. Your labor dept should have rules concerning aides. They get time and half for anything over 40hrs and time off.
Because this woman doesn't want a contract, for me that is a red flag. For the money Mom is putting out for round the clock care, for my peace of mind, I would feel better if she was in a nice Assisted Living near a family member. If she has a home, sell it and use the proceeds to pay for her AL.
Medicare doesn't pay for long term care (except for rehab) and is not means tested.
I mean Medicaid, when mom runs out of money and needs Nuraing Home care (at 12 k permonth). There is a 5 year lookback. You will need to account for how her funds have been spent.
I hope you know about the ins and outs of Medicaid in your mom's state.
She may be on Medicaid or disability but doesn't get enough to live on so she has to earn money and the only way to do it is under-the-table so it doesn't screw up her benefits.
When you talk to her don't be judgmental about her not paying taxes and how that's illegal. Believe me, if you don't make paying her in cash an issue, she won't give you problems. Did you check her work references and talked to other families who have hired her in the past? This is always the best indicator of how good a caregiver she will be.
Also, be realistic about things. No one takes a live-in caregiving job for an elder with dementia unless they're pretty down on their luck. Keep this in mind and don't be judgmental.
I have done private care for a long time and have never had a contract with a family. We've always just talked about what they expect and I explain that situations change very quickly with caregiving and if we need to re-negotiate things like the pay for instance because a higher level of care becomes necessary at some point. Things like this. I don't do live-in work but you could come to an arrangement with your worker about how long she can stay if mom passes or has to go into facility care.
If you take care of the caregiver properly, she'll work out fine.
Do you have specific reasons for not wanting contracts that protect all parties? If things go wrong, have you relied on other legal avenues, like lawsuits or insurance?
When my mom entered a NH after a dementia dx and a broken hip, we resigned ourselves, reading that most folks only live 6 months in such facilities, even good ones.
My mom thrived and lived well for nearly 5 years. She was not poor by any means, but we got pretty close to needing Medicaid funding.
Medicare (which everyone is entitlted to after age 65) will pay for a few weeks of rehab after a qualifying hospitalization.
Medicaid is something you need to apply for when/if she gets within about 20k of running out of funds.
A visit to an eldercare attorney would male this all much clearer.
* ”hired through craigslist”
* “wasn't fully candid”
* “Tax avoidance”
* “blind trust”
There is no good here. No formal background check of any sort, I assume. No relative nearby to regularly check in. Alone with your mother who has dementia.
A contract may be the least of your problems.
We did enough of a background check to get the gist of things. A formal one could be done at any time. This is a case where trust has been earned (so far) and I'm keeping watch for any flukes.
Tax evasion
not wanting a contract
not candid
I see red flags all over this.
You have a great excuse to change this (and possibly look for a new caregiver.
The start of a new year is right around the corner.
Tell your employee that your lawyer has advised that a contract be drawn up spelling out the duties and level of care that "Ms. XXX" requires.
Also filling out paperwork for the IRS and all other papers required.
This all is being done in case "Ms. XXX" declines to the point where she needs more specialized care and has depleted her funds that have been set aside for her care and an application for Medicaid needs to be completed. All the paperwork will show that all funds have been used properly and that no monies have been gifted.
Also do a complete background check
A blatantly evasive persona would have me far more concerned, and I know about long-cons and most of life's pitfalls. (Off-topic: Many voters trusted an unashamed con man to handle far more responsibility, so it's all relative.)
At the very least get a copy of her state issued ID and a second form of ID. If she doesn't want to do that, I wouldn't trust her with my mom.
I have one client that didn’t want me under contract because of knowing each other for many years. However, we hand write one up and both signed it to cover him and me. I don’t want kids who didn’t visit to come and question me in the future. When he needed to add night time care, I called the agency and digitally signed the contract on his behalf.
Especially as dementia progresses, things can get sketchy. my own mom thought I was forging her name. It’s good my dad was alive to know it wasn’t true.
In my opinion, a contract and proof of ID is the least of what you need. It doesn’t have to be a long drawn out paper. Keep it simple.
Working without a contract isn't right there should be a contract to protect you and your mother. With not having it you puts yourself and your mother in all kinds of danger because you don't know anything about her. And with that said you don't know what she can do and say to get her way even with the house saying your mother gave it to her.
I would go thru an agency it will protect you and your mother and also the worker because if she falls you would have to pay for it and do you have the money to do that? Does your mother have enough money to pay for someone that falls and says they cannot work anymore depending on the age you maybe paying her salary for 10 to 15 yrs do you have enough money for that?
Never take the easy way out because it will cost you in the end speaking from experience BIL gave money to his niece she said it was for her taking care of him and he has dementia.
As for your actual question, I would advise consultation with an elder law attorney regarding putting things in place to protect you, your mom and the aide. Also, you can 1099 the aide at the end of the year and it will be on her whether or not to file her own taxes. That way you have covered yourself. As already mentioned, it is also important to be able to show where your mom's money is being spent for Medicaid purposes should she need nursing home placement in the future. Medicaid will look to see that her money was not gifted away within the last 5 years from the filing date so you will need some sort of proof that her money wasn't gifted but used towards care expenses. I also want to add that in my professional experience some of the best, most caring, reliable and dependable aides are the ones who "work off the books". Sad but true. I have learned not to judge a book by the cover and to trust your own gut instincts. I hope that helps. Good luck!
'I also want to add that in my professional experience some of the best, most caring, reliable and dependable aides are the ones who "work off the books". '
The above may well be true here. It's all about individual personalities and reasons for doing this sort of work, including liking the elderly more than younger people who "have it together" but can be far more unpleasant to face.
If f paid $15.00 an hour, that is about $30,000 a year. Then overtime alone is about $150,000.00 a year. Caregiver is expected to respond to overnight emergencies? Does she get paid time off? Vacation? Health insurance? Does mom carry liability insurance in case of injury? At this rate what would be the problem with making payment legally?
You have many things to think about. If mom ran out of money, then Medicaid and you would have to account for the monies being paid to caregiver. Without a contract and legal payment anything paid to caregiver would be considered a gift. So mom is ineligible for medicaid. Nursing home fees paid by family.
Medicare does not pay for long term care. And NEVER,EVER hire a caregiver from Craig's list. Trying to do this on the cheap is not legal and above all safe for mom.
Craigslist is not safe and hiring from agencies is safe. There’s plenty of cases where agency caregivers did something wrong just like caregivers from craigslist. Hiring a caregiver from an agency some people like to think there’s a guarantee the person is of honest good character is simply not always the case. The ideal solution though not always possible is to have a family member as the cg
She probably offers her services on Craigslist because she doesn't want to pay the membership fees to have an employment profile on Care
I do prefer to stick to people who stick to the rules. The lawyer in me says that it’s nearly always safer. Once you know you're in the wrong, it can be hard to deal with problems that come up.
The poster also states that the caregiver has been doing a good job.
Is it part of the caregiver's duties to make sure they share the same political and/or religious views the employer's family has? No it is not. I can't tell you how many total and complete elderly a$$holes and their families I've worked for over the years, who have Fox News blaring on the tv 24 hours a day. I can say that now because I'm not working for them these days. I never had a problem with any of them because I knew it wasn't my job to debate their politics or organize a protest in some elderly client's front yard to call them out on racism or sexism, or anything else that ends in an 'ism' for that matter.
Please define what you mean by "fully candid". Everyone has a right to privacy and do not have too share and discuss every detail of their lives because an employer believes they have a right know anything they want. They do not have this right.
The employer has a right to check work references. They have a right to demand a criminal back round check to make sure their employee is not a criminal or wanted by the law. In healthcare and jobs involving close contact with the public, an employer has a right to know that their workers don't have communicable diseases and may insist on vaccination records.
I never discussed my personal political, social, or religious beliefs with any client or their family. Nor have I ever engaged a client or any of their family members in any discussion even remotely connected to politics, religion, or social issues.
The poster states clearly to me in the response to my comment that this caregiver's references check out. Sometimes it's best to leave well enough alone.
Her political views have nothing to do with the job. If the family had such misgivings with her they did not have to hire her and let her move into their mother's house. They did though. So unless she's giving them a reason to fire her like she's not doing her job and the client doesn't want her there, leave well enough alone.
If this caregiver were to become disgruntled, she could easily go to the department of labor and file a complaint. Writing "household services" on the memo line will not take care of your issues. Have you thought about a consult with an elder law attorney to find out what is legal in your state. It would be a good idea.
Is it really worth it?
You don't understand how live-in help gets paid. There are jobs where the employee does not have to be paid even minimum wage hourly. Like waiter/waitress, bartenders, hairdressers (in some states). Live-in caregivers fall into this group. Whereas the other types of workers get tips and this justifies not even paying them minimum wage, not paying a live-in caregiver minimum is justified because free room and board is factored in.
It's a pretty lousy system all around, but this is how it works.
I've been burned a couple of times on my wages, but never twice by the same employer. Any agency or family that has ever employed me understands that I get my money or their loved one goes without care. No exceptions.
I did not say room and board are considered partial payment for services. Because room and board are included in the position, live-in caregiver falls under types of work where the employer does not have to legally pay minimum wage. Other jobs in this category include restaurant waitstaff, bartenders, and hairdressers because they get tips. This is why they don't have to be paid even minimum wage.
You could consider the free room and board a live-in caregiver gets to be sort of like tips. It isn't payment for services, but is the reason why live-in caregivers do not have to be paid minimum wage.
The worker in question is your mother’s employee. You can’t just decide you don’t to be an employer. If you don’t want to be an employer, hire through an agency and let them be the employer.
Oh and BTW there are plenty of people over 60 "prone to common temptations."