From healthleaders, G Hatfield discusses whether nurses can be classified as employees or independent contractors and advices companies to document the independent contractor relationship in a compliant manner. G Hatfield
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A nurse could be classified as an independent contractor (IC) if their work is unsupervised or unassigned, they are not told how to perform services, they can determine their own schedule, negotiate their pay, and incur their own expenses.
- The upside to IC designation is less worry about compliance, while the downside is loss of control over how the IC nurse performs services.
- CNOs and other healthcare executives must ensure that nurses and clinicians are classified properly to avoid the investigations or litigation that can result from IC misclassification.
…
What about misclassification?
It’s critical that CNOs and other healthcare executives ensure that any nurses or clinicians treated as ICs must be classified properly, or there can be steep consequences.
According to Reibstein, health systems can face investigations and litigation in situations where misclassification occurs.
“They can be subjected to class action lawsuits as well as audits and investigations by state or federal workforce and tax agencies,” Reibstein said, “all leading to considerable legal exposure and liability.”
To avoid these issues, Reibstein said health systems should structure their relationships with ICs in a manner that maximizes compliance with the applicable IC laws, and they should strive to meet as many as two or three dozen criteria for IC compliance.
Health systems must also document and implement the IC relationship in a compliant manner, Reibstein explained, and customize the IC relationships to meet their business model and objectives, so that the outcomes are sustainable.
“One-size-fits-all approaches are usually ill-fitting,” Reibstein said, “and what may work for one health care system may not work effectively for another.”
G Hatfield is the CNO editor for HealthLeaders.
Read the full story at What Happens When Nurses Are Misclassified? | HealthLeaders Media
