Agencies and contracts -- revisited

[suzanne4]

I am not against agencies in general, but only the ones that take advantage of nurses.

Things to consider when going the route of using an agency:

1. There is absolutely no such thing as free exams, free green card, or free plane fare and expenses paid. It will come from your paycheck.

2. Agencies can be paid in one of several ways: 100% by the hiring facility if they direct place you, by the facility as well as the nurse, or by charging the nurse a significant fee before they leave their country such as India, in addition to getting paid by the facility. In India, they call it a bond, but I have failed to see one get that bond returned when they complete their assignment. Or by keelping the nurse as their employee and getting the billing rate from the facility.

3. Make sure that you have taken the NCLEX exam before you arrive in the US, or you may find that you will not get paid until you pass that exam. In many contracts, look closely, it states that you will be paid as a CNA until you pass that exam, and many agencies will not even submit documentation to the BON until you arrive. This also adds months onto your contract, as it states "work as an RN."

4. If living arrangements are made for housing in the beginning, have it specified as to what it will be in writing. We have seen 10 people placed in a studio apt in NY and without heat in the winter; or eight women in a four bedroom apt with only one shower, and a small kitchen. Please be very careful with this.

5. If it is not in writing, it does not exist. A verbal condition from a recruiter does not hold water in a court of law, it must be in writing.

6. If an agency tells you that you need to write the CGFNS exam to work in the US, run from them. That has not been factual in several years. The CGFNS exam is only required in five states currently. Howver, if you live on a continent where the exam is not given, and too costly to travel that is another story....

Please be very careful before you sign anything, much easier to have it checked out before you sign. It is a legal binding contract, inlcuding the cancellation clause that some have added to go into effect even before you take the NCLEX exam. Also be cautious of large cancellation fees, $8,000 to $10,000 could be considered reasonable, but $25,000 and above is crazy. A guarantor also should not be required to sign your contract.

Always be an informed consumer!

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Hi.

I read a contract, benefits are stated including 16 days PTO etc. The contract is for 3 years.

Breach of contract is $10,000

Anyway, the rate is $24-28 (it is for a nursing home in los angeles). The specific rate is not specified in the contract. Night differentials, overtime rates and weekend rates are also not stated. But the employer discussed that overtime pay will be x1.5 and holidays x2.

What can you say about this contract?

Most places have paid holidays, that alone is 9-10 PTO. Most give you a couple of weeks of sick time - I will go on the low end of 5 , so you are getting 1 vacation day. Most nurses get at the low end 2 weeks vacation as far as PTO you will are getting screwed. You will never be able to visit back home ( for the length of the contract). It is the law to pay overtime that is no big incentive.

[chinita]

These companies may be reputable in your country, but not in mine. They are selling you to the highest bidder like a commodity and nothing more than that. Does not matter how long that they have been in business for, but the bigger issue and one that you and everyone else needs to consider is that they only get paid when the nurse actually starts work in the US; this is going to take years so how are they going to fund their agency?

Next question is how do you even know that this employer will be in business seven years from now? Many nursing homes change hands every few years as well.

But you are still getting the royal screw or shaft or whatever you want to call it. You are going to have $10,000 taken per year out of your pay for the agency, and you are paying all of the expenses. There is no reason for this, but you are going to have a very large bill to pay to them later on and this is what they are hoping for. Next item is if everything was on the up and up with the employer, why in the world would they need to go there and interview and then give things over to a middleman to handle that is not even in the US? This again sends up red flags to me as well. And what are you going to do over the next 7 years to get paid work experience. That tells me that the employer was not licenses to even recruit in the Philippines so is having to go thru an agency. Not a good thing either.

I am telling you how things are, it does not matter to me how good an agency is. The proof is that you are getting taken advantage of but are still looking for someone to tell you that this is a good idea for you and I cannot do that. It is very bad for you to consider them.

Suggest that you show this to your parents and then ask for their views on it. Things most definitely are not going to be as they are promised. And if this nursing home was the employer, all rates would have been listed in the contract with subject to change later on as salaries increased, not left out of it as you have received.

Again, I think that you are making a very bad mistake, but this is something that you are going to need to decide on your own.

The salary is subject to change and may vary to work location as stated in the contract.

Thank you for replying in my inquiries.

[suzanne4, RN]

You just have even reinforced what I am saying even more. They do not have a specific facility that you would be hired for, and they have absolutely no idea then if they will even have a need seven years plus from now.

You are making a very bad mistake if you sign and not all of the required information is written in the contract;if not written, then it does not exist.

You came and asked for advice and I gave it; so have several others. We have said that it is a bad contract, you are going to be getting money taken from your pay to a tune of $10,000 per year and into their pockets.

Best of luck as to what you decide to do. Nothing else that I am going to add to this.

Going rate in the LA area is more than $5 higher at the moment for those that had 100% of their fees paid, you are having to pay all of it and then get $5 less an hour as well. Bad, bad idea.

[chinita]

You just have even reinforced what I am saying even more. They do not have a specific facility that you would be hired for, and they have absolutely no idea then if they will even have a need seven years plus from now.

You are making a very bad mistake if you sign and not all of the required information is written in the contract;if not written, then it does not exist.

You came and asked for advice and I gave it; so have several others. We have said that it is a bad contract, you are going to be getting money taken from your pay to a tune of $10,000 per year and into their pockets.

Best of luck as to what you decide to do. Nothing else that I am going to add to this.

Going rate in the LA area is more than $5 higher at the moment for those that had 100% of their fees paid, you are having to pay all of it and then get $5 less an hour as well. Bad, bad idea.

I would like to clarify what I've written on the previous post regarding the location, they would all be in California. The thing is, they have 8 facilities and the nurses would be placed to the facility that would need additional nurses.

And about the fees, they would have to pay the immigration fees which would be around $1200. That amount would be deducted for the entire employment period.

Anyway, thank you for your advice.

[suzanne4, RN]

The $1200 is just the fees to the US government, you are not including the charges of approximately $5,000 for the attorney that will be completing all of the documentation and this is what the agency is going to expense to you as well.

I understand what you are telling me, and I am still telling you that you are being taken advantage of. I started this thread specifically so that nurses would not get taken advantage of, as well as the thread on the Philippine Forum concerning the same. And then you are walking straight into it and doing what we are telling you not to.

They have given you a crappy contract, no two ways about it. And also suspect that they are not licensed in your country to recruit so that is why they are having an agency there handle it as well.

There is nothing else to explain, you are going to be taken advantage of and that is exactly what they are doing. In addition to it, you are going to pay out more than 30,000 over three years to the agency for handling things for them.

Bad, bad news.

[yhl1975]

Hello dear Suzanne and dear Silverdragon! For 3 years now I have been applied for Green Card Lottery and for 2010 my spouse has a Case number.

I have Visa SCREEN , NY Board of Nursing license and turist visa.

Could I start legaly work without Green Card,befor all Green Card process(medical exam,consul appoitment...).

How to do legal temporary work authorization card?

I am interested in summer work or for 3-4 month a year in NY.What options of work do I have?Thanks a lot for your help.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Hello dear Suzanne and dear Silverdragon! For 3 years now I have been applied for Green Card Lottery and for 2010 my spouse has a Case number.

I have Visa SCREEN , NY Board of Nursing license and turist visa.

Could I start legaly work without Green Card,befor all Green Card process(medical exam,consul appoitment...).

How to do legal temporary work authorization card?

I am interested in summer work or for 3-4 month a year in NY.What options of work do I have?Thanks a lot for your help.

You can not work without completing the process and getting GC issued. Just getting a case number doesn't help. All you can do is wait