How to Hire a Nanny: Your Complete Guide to Finding, Hiring, And Retaining Household Help

by Guy Maddalone

Overview

 Hiring someone to watch your children, or to provide any other assistance you may need around your home, can be an incredibly time-consuming and difficult process. Making sure you comply with the employment, hiring, payroll, and tax regulations, as well as just being a good employer, is crucial to making this relationship work.
How to Hire a Nanny provides guidance from the nation's leading expert on household help-- Guy Maddalone. For more than 25 years, Guy has assisted countless families with finding the right help to meet their needs. In this book, he walks you through the entire process of being an employer of a nanny or other household employee. With practical information and accurate facts, this comprehensive guide is a valuable resource and handy tool that streamlines an otherwise complicated process for the household employer. You'll find help on topics such as:
•             finding help on your own
•             employing a noncitizen
•             forming a work agreement
•             determining wages and hours
•             managing payroll, insurance, and taxes
•             ensuring your home is a safe workplace
•             and much more
This informative handbook covers everything you need to make the process of hiring and employing household help easy and simple.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781483586281
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	03/23/2017
Pages:	408
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Guy Maddalone is founder and CEO of GTM Payroll Services Inc., which offers household payroll, human resources, insurance, and employee benefits services. Recognized in the United States household employment industry as the national expert, Maddalone has been operating businesses that attend to household employment for over 30 years. Starting with the placement of home healthcare and eldercare services, Maddalone expanded his business to include nannies and other household staff, and named the company A New England Nanny. For 25 years, A New England Nanny has placed thousands of child care providers and nannies throughout upstate New York. Maddalone founded GTM in 1991 to provide payroll & tax administration for household employers, the first in the industry. GTM is the nation’s premier household payroll and tax service, and manages more than $1 billion annually in payroll, supporting more than 30,000 employees. GTM has also made the INC 5000 list eight times as one of the fastest-growing U.S. companies. Maddalone conducts educational seminars throughout the country on the household employment industry, household human resources, household payroll taxes, IRS audits, tax compliance, and dependent care services for corporate employers. He is also a work-life dependent care consultant to GE, a licensed property and casualty broker specializing in Workers’ Compensation, and a member of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Involved with several prominent business organizations, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Inc. magazine, Birthing of Giants, and former president of the Albany Chapter of the Young Entrepreneur’s Organization, Maddalone also contributes greatly to the community in which he lives—from coaching youth sports teams to mentoring local college entrepreneurs and giving to many charities, including the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Maddalone is also heavily involved with industry associations, such as the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies and the International Nanny Association. The eldest son of 13 children, the importance of family is integral to Maddalone. He and his wife, Diane, reside in upstate New York with their three children.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi

Contents xvii

Introduction xxi

Preface xxviii

Chapter 1 Types of Household Help 1

Household Employers 2

Household Employees 5

Chapter 2 Hiring Your Nanny or Other Household Help 9

The Citizen and Noncitizen Employee 9

Employee vs. Independent Contractor 10

The Hiring Process 14

Hiring Laws 40

Chapter 3 Employing a Noncitizen 51

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 54

Hiring a Foreign Worker 59

Sponsoring Foreign Workers for Temporary Employment 66

Sponsoring Foreign Workers for Permanent Employment 71

Consequences of Hiring an Unauthorized Alien 72

Chapter 4 Finding Help on Your Own 74

Using Your Personal Network to Find Household Help 74

Posting a Job Advertisement 75

Using the Internet to Find Household Help 77

Background Checking and References 91

Fees and Payment 98

Chapter 5 Using a Professional Agency to Hire Help 101

How to Find a Reputable Agency 104

What to Ask an Agency 107

What to Tell an Agency 112

Agency Fees 115

Chapter 6 The Work Agreement 119

Job Description 120

Work Agreement 124

Chapter 7 Personnel Practices for the Home 138

The Employee Handbook 138

Medical Release Forms 152

Maintaining an Employee Personnel File 152

Performance Reviews 153

Discipline 156

First Days 157

Chapter 8 Determining Wages and Scheduling Hours 162

Discussing Gross Pay vs. Net Pay Payment Methods 163

Discussing Hourly Wages vs. Salary 165

Fair Labor Standards Act 166

Salaries and Minimum Wage 171

Penalties 179

Time-Off Payments 184

Debts Owed by Employee to Employer 184

Garnishment 185

Overtime 186

Compensation During Travel and Off-Site Events 190

Breaking Down the Paycheck 190

Family Medical Leave Act 198

Chapter 9 Employee Benefits to Help Retain the Best 201

Medical Insurance Coverage 202

Retirement 209

Life Insurance 211

Educational Assistance 211

Flexible Work Hours 213

Prepaid Legal Services 215

Use of Employer's Personal Property and Facilities 217

Holiday Club Savings Account 218

Chapter 10 Managing Payroll and Taxes 222

Employer Responsibilities 223

Understand the Laws 228

Comply with Tax Laws 230

Obtain the Necessary Paperwork 231

Federal Taxes 232

State Taxes 243

Record Retention 248

Paying an Employee 250

Chapter 11 Health, Safety, and Insurance 253

Occupational Safety and Health Act 254

Emergency Preparation 258

Home Safety 260

Home Security 263

Driving Safety 264

A Drug-Free Workplace 266

Workers' Compensation 268

Disability Insurance 273

Chapter 12 Illegal Discrimination in the Home 277

Federal Laws 278

State and Local Laws 281

Sexual Harassment 282

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 287

Commonsense Practices 289

At-Will Employment 291

Chapter 13 Termination, Resignation, and Saying Goodbye 291

Termination 293

Exit Interview or Termination Meeting 296

Resignation 305

Saying Goodbye 307

About the Author 309

Appendix A Tax Calendar & Checklists 311

Appendix B Interview Questions 314

Appendix C Resources 323

Appendix D Sample Hiring Forms 325

Appendix E Sample Employment Forms 338

Glossary 362

Index 371