I am a private caregiver and have been working in a senior living community and now the general manager has been harassing me. What should I do?

If an employee of mine accepted private contracts from residents and served them within the facility, I would cite a conflict of interest and be very upset if this person did not carry their own liability insurance, have a business license or be registered with the health department. I would give one warning to cease and desist or be terminated.

igloo572 you brought up an interesting point about being bonded. Now I was wondering when a caregiver is an "independent contractor" and working for a client who happens to live in a senior living complex, I wonder how the "workman's comp" is worked out? I would guess the client would have renter's insurance and probably a workman's comp rider attached to that policy.

Why I was wondering was back when my Dad was still living at home his homeowner's insurance asked if he had caregivers. Dad did but they were employees of an Agency that was licensed, bonded, insured and had workman's comp for their employees in case one got hurt on the job. No problem. But if Dad had an "independent contractor" he would have needed to purchase a workman's comp rider.

If its the situation that Your coming into the "community" to work & be paid directly by a resident or two, this is posing a liability issue for the place. Your not family or an occasional visitor but a regular on-site presence.

Most facilities understand the need to allow for caregivers or aides but as Freqflyer said they have been vetted with thier info on file. Some places require independent caregivers to be bonded. It's safety & security that benefits all.

Think about it this way.....say you are doing laundry for Mrs Smith and run back to her IL apt to get dryer sheets, while you were away another resident slips & falls on one of mrs smiths wet towels......who faces responsibility?
You in your own car drive your client, Mrs Smith, and her neighbor, Mrs Jones, to CVS & Target & get lunch....hours later Jones (who has dementia) can't find her wallet & RXs......who faces responsibility?
the GM is the one who is going to get calls & concerns ....he has to be proactive to smooth things out in advance which he is trying to do with you. Work with him, please for the sake of your clients. He holds the nuclear option which could be to require the residents to each do a liability rider insurance policy to have you continue to come into the "community" & work for them.....they & their kids may really like you but may not really, really love you that much.

If there is anything lurking in your past, your household or credit history that could be an issue for being bonded, really work with him to avoid having to be bonded with those items becoming an issue.

Unless you are an atty. or are under the advise of an atty., you probably should not go around saying "he is breaking the contractural rights of a resident".

Sully, it's simple, you let the General Manager at the facility know whenever you are taking on a new client within the facility. I see nothing wrong with that.

My Dad was able to bring with him his caregivers to his new residence at Independent Living but the caregivers had to be vetted by the facility management to make sure they were actual employees of the Caregiver Agency and that they were up-to-date with TB testing, background checks, etc. The other residents want to feel safe where they live and know if they see a caregiver that that person is allowed to be there.

I know that some of the big chains have their own outside agencies that they prefer are hired for extra care in their facilities. I'm not sure they can ban residents from hiring someone else, but they can make it unpleasant enough that it amounts to the same thing.
Asking that you give notice of when you are scheduled to be in the facility, who you are seeing and having to sign in/out would be prudent security precautions on their part.

It sounds like you're an independent caregiver and you've had clients who reside in this assisted living facility. Maybe you've gotten more jobs through referrals over the years?

But now, the general manager of the facility is requesting that you inform him of who you are working for. Which residents in the facility you are working for. Is that right?

Have you seen a contract from someone who lives there? Someone has shown you their contract from when they moved into the facility? What does it say about the resident hiring outside help?

Before going head to head with this guy get all your facts in order. Don't approach this situation being on the defense. He may have the power to end your working there so you don't want to antagonize him.

And I don't know how appropriate it is to include your clients (the residents of the facility) in on this. If they get involved the whole thing could turn into one big mess and it's not really professional to take this problem to your clients. Yes, it affects them in the long run but until and unless the GM refuses your services keep your clients out of the fray and deal with this on your own.

Are you doing a side, independent job for residents in a retirement community where you work?

The GM of what? The contracting firm you work for? The Community? I'm confused about this situation. If you work for a home health company and the rules are you tell them about changes in clients, then you tell them about changes in clients.

If you are independent and the clients pay you directly, what is the GM's role in this?

Please explain a little more, so we can reply.