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Risks of Hiring Outside of an Agency

Risks and Liability for Directly Hiring a SVNA Home Assistance Caregiver (Criminal & Civil)

Any caregivers provided by SVNA Home Assistance, LLC (HAP) are employees of HAP, which means that HAP fulfills certain insurance, withholding and pay obligations to the caregivers under Connecticut and Federal law.

Therefore, we would ask that you refrain from directly hiring any caregivers provided to you by HAP. If you do so, you will likely be deemed the employer of the caregiver under Connecticut law, which would require you to fulfill certain insurance and other obligations, the failure of which may subject you to criminal and civil liability.

Employer Obligations

  • As an employer, you legally would have to fulfill various withholding, tax payment, assessments, insurance and other obligations, including to: 1) the Connecticut and Federal Department of Labor for quarterly unemployment compensation assessments based on all payments you make to the employee; 2) the IRS and multiple Federal government agencies to withhold, as well as pay these agencies Federal tax withholdings, Medicare payments and Social Security payments; and 3) to the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services for registering with that agency as well as making all State tax withholding payments for any payments, wages or compensation paid to the caregiver by you.
  • As an employer, you also have an obligation to provide job-protected family and medical leave to the caregiver for covered reasons under the Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act if the caregiver qualifies, which means that the caregiver has the legal right to return to his or her position with you once the leave is over, or you could be sued.
  • As an employer, you may be liable, depending on the services provided, to pay overtime to the caregiver for all hours worked, the failure of which may subject you to an audit or investigation by the Connecticut or United States Department of Labor and an assessment of back wages, interest and civil penalties.
  • As an employer, you are required to provide workers’ compensation insurance coverage for the caregiver in case the employee suffers an injury during the course of his or her work for you. An employer that fails to provide workers’ compensation coverage for his or her employees may violate Connecticut law and will likely be liable to the caregiver directly to pay all medical bills and provide weekly workers’ compensation wage-like benefits for sometimes years should the caregiver suffer an injury while providing services to you.
  • If you wrongly attempt to classify a caregiver as an independent contractor, the employercould also face an audit or investigation by the State or Federal Department of Labor, aswell as IRS tax and other Federal and State liabilities.
  • You are being provided this warning because we believe it is in your best interest to notdirectly employ any of our caregivers and take on these additional responsibilities andliability which are presently the responsibility of HAP. You should consult your attorneyor tax professional if you are going to attempt to employ any of our caregivers.