ICONNEL®
Catholic Foundation

Notes on Private Duty Placement (ICONNEL provides homemaker placements)

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Everyone who hires a caregiver privately should be aware of the the following regulations:

 

1. Federal and State Compliance regulations (see below)

2. Referral of information regarding the Employer's Guide to UI insurance, Wage Reporting and W/H Tax https://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/publications/withholding/nys50.pdf                                               

3. Reference to satisfy state minimum requirements for sexual harrassment training: https://www.ny.gov/combating-sexual-harassment-workplace/employers                                    

4. NY State requires paid leave for at least 3 days per year                                    

5. Domestic workers are covered for minimum wage and overtime wages. See the minimum wage schedule at www.labor.ny.gov/minimumwage. You and your employer can agree on a higher rate of pay. If you don’t live in your employer’s home, you are entitled to overtime pay of 1 ½ times your regular rate of pay when you work more than 40 hours a week. If you live in your employer’s home, they must pay you overtime after 44 hours of work.                

6. All caregivers are pre-screened and reference checked with full transparency and disclosure about the findings by the agency                                  

7. 81% of costs go into the pocket of the caregiver in the above example.  This results in a higher quality, highly incented caregiver.  

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* Administrative Outsourcing Fee is an optional service provided by our strategic partner who can take care of the paperwork and compliance for $50 per payroll process.  Ask us for details about our administrative outsourcing provider (optional service) service which will keep you updated with any rule or regulatory changes related to labor laws, taxation, and healthcare. This includes but is not limited to the following:

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1. Federal Compliance

   1. 1.  I-9 Verification: https://www.uscis.gov/i-9

      2. Employee Tax withholding certificate: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw4.pdf

      3. Federal Labor Law notices on Domestic workers:

         1. Fair Labor Standards Act https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/whdfs79b.pdf

         2. Domestic Service FAQs https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/direct-care/faq#sleep

2. State Compliance

   1. Employer Responsibilities:

      1. Understanding of the NY Shield Act - https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-protecting-new-yorkers-against-data-security-breaches

      2. Understanding of Employer Labor Laws of NY https://www.labor.ny.gov/legal/laws/pdf/domestic-workers/facts-for-employers.pdf

      3. Unemployment:

         1. Household Employer Registration for Unemployment Insurance, withholding and wage reporting - https://www.businessexpress.ny.gov/app/answers/cms/a_id/3036/kw/(NYS100)

      4. Tax withholding and reporting - There are multiple ways that this can be addressed.  Most domestic worker expenses and withholdings are reported on the employer’s personal income tax return, and year end W-2s, federal, state withholding returns must be filed.   Your accountant or ICONNEL can point you to set this up.

      5. Registration of all employees with NY State https://www.nynewhire.com/#/login 

      6. Employee termination - https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS46.pdf

   2. Notices to provide to each new domestic worker:

      1. Notice and Acknowledgement of Pay Rate and Payday https://labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/wp/LS54.pdf

      2. Labor Rights and Protections for Domestic Workers https://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/P712.pdf

      3. Facts for Domestic Workers https://labor.ny.gov/legal/laws/pdf/domestic-workers/facts-for-domestic-workers.pdf

      4. Domestic Workers Bill of Rights https://www.labor.ny.gov/legal/laws/pdf/domestic-workers/about-domestic-workers-law.pdf

      5. Domestic Workers Harassment Pamphlet https://dhr.ny.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/domestic-workers.pdf

      6. Domestic Workers Minimum Wage Notice: https://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/factsheets/pdfs/P713.pdf

      7. Covid Notification Rule to Employees: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYTAX/bulletins/288b1a6 (Form can be downloaded here - https://www.labor.ny.gov/formsdocs/ui/IA12_3.pdf)

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Notes on Personal Care / Home Health Care Services  (ICONNEL does not provide this service)

 

1. An agency is required to perform all of the functions above to each of its caregiver employees.  Furthermore, they must provision a supervisor (nurse or care manager equivalent) to provide assessments, create and maintain a plan of care.  All of these expenses push down ultimately on the wage rates of the caregiver, forcing the agency to consider substandard caregivers who may not be truly qualified for the job in both moral standards, attitude, and ethics.

2. Home health aide is not an employee of the family and is bound to time sheets and strict policy rules and scope of work

3. Caregiver is not at risk because he/she works for an agency resulting in a different level of performance behavior as compared to a self-employed caregiver.                                

4. Family has no input as to the kind of caregiver they will receive and how often, resulting in the possibility of high caregiver turnover rates.                                

5. Domestic workers are covered for minimum wage and overtime wages. See the minimum wage schedule at www.labor.ny.gov/minimumwage. You and your employer can agree on a higher rate of pay. If you don’t live in your employer’s home, you are entitled to overtime pay of 1 ½ times your regular rate of pay when you work more than 40 hours a week. If you live in your employer’s home, they must pay you overtime after 44 hours of work.                   

6. Assessments are mandatory, along with sign off of timesheets, and other paperwork including Bill of Rights, Advance Directives, Service agreements, liability  and indemnity waivers.