Wanting to hire an agency caregiver directly
May 6, 2022 3:31 PM Subscribe
Are agency buyout clauses enforceable in California?
My Mom has caregivers through an agency. It took us a long time for them to assign caregivers to us that I trust enough not to have to be in the house all the time, which they finally did at then end of last year and which has been going GREAT for about six months.
One of them went on vacation for a month only to come back and get reassigned away from us. The agency mentioned nothing to us or her (and she doesn't like the shifts they've scheduled her for), and she said she would prefer to stay with us anyway. So, my idea is that if we can't have her through the agency, we'll go direct with her and be her only client for four days a week, an idea she likes.
I know almost all non-compete clauses against employees are unenforceable in California, so she's free to work for us without penalty, but what about customers? The services agreement between the agency and myself specifies a restrictive covenant in the form of a large fee (phrased as 'liquidated damages'), so I'm wondering if this is enforceable in California.
I have a call into our local Lawyer Referral service, but that's probably not going to come through until Monday.
My Mom has caregivers through an agency. It took us a long time for them to assign caregivers to us that I trust enough not to have to be in the house all the time, which they finally did at then end of last year and which has been going GREAT for about six months.
One of them went on vacation for a month only to come back and get reassigned away from us. The agency mentioned nothing to us or her (and she doesn't like the shifts they've scheduled her for), and she said she would prefer to stay with us anyway. So, my idea is that if we can't have her through the agency, we'll go direct with her and be her only client for four days a week, an idea she likes.
I know almost all non-compete clauses against employees are unenforceable in California, so she's free to work for us without penalty, but what about customers? The services agreement between the agency and myself specifies a restrictive covenant in the form of a large fee (phrased as 'liquidated damages'), so I'm wondering if this is enforceable in California.
I have a call into our local Lawyer Referral service, but that's probably not going to come through until Monday.
I have no idea about in California, but I know in Michigan I was a bit surprised that one of mom's agency caregivers tried several times to get us to hire her directly instead of going through the agency (we did not, mostly because it wasn't a great fit anyway). We have, however, hired other caregivers that don't work for the agency (which they know), and they have been willing to provide help on the days when those caregivers can't help. I get the impression we're not a priority customer, but it's been worth it for us. I honestly don't know if I signed a restrictive covenant or not (hopefully not?).
posted by ldthomps at 6:05 PM on May 6, 2022
posted by ldthomps at 6:05 PM on May 6, 2022
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I live in Calif and our family hired caregivers through an agency. Some were paid for by insurance (VA) and some were services that we paid for. It took several years and we went though probably 15 or 16 people (most were wonderful, but not a great fit). Eventually we found one woman who was stellar. We spoke to her directly about working for us, and she was agreeable.
We did hire her and the agency never said anything, and we continued to use the agency for the small VA benefit (since they wouldn't cover a direct-pay situation).
posted by typetive at 5:38 PM on May 6, 2022