Rates quoted by an agency for california assigment- help am i being lowballed

[Helixx]

These are the quotes I received from a travel agency for an assignment in northern California. I have tried to get the information to put in the rate calculator on pan travelers without success. Having never traveled before the Net pay for weekly seems reasonable if I take the non housing option (first set). I do not understand the low hourly rate and how that figures in the grand scheme of things.

Am I being lowballed ? RN for 27 years with 9 yr current in ICU/ER/PACU. I have always worked for hospital and never traveled before.

Can anyone explain this crappy hourly rate ?

• Position- ICU
  
• Shift- 3-12 hour nights and days
  
• Length- 13 weeks
  
• Pay with benefits not incorporated and housing not provided by JNP- $13.00/hour for first 8 hours and $23.00/hour after 8 hours with weekly meals and incidentals stipend of $427(untaxed) and weekly lodging stipend of $672(untaxed) and a one time travel reimbursement of $500(untaxed) on your first paycheck.
  
• Gross- $1,687per week
  
• Net- Assuming 25% taxes you get $1,540 per week
  

• Position- ICU
  
• Shift- 3-12 hour nights and days
  
• Length- 13 weeks
  
  
• Pay with benefits not incorporated and housing provided by JNP- $18.00/hour for first 8 hours and $30.00/hour after 8 hours with weekly meals and incidentals stipend of $427(untaxed) and a one time travel reimbursement of $500 (untaxed) on your first paycheck.
  
• Gross- $1,219per week
  
• Net- Assuming 25% taxes you get $1,021 per week
  

[globetrotterRN]

Hey Globetrotterrn what agency did you use for your assignments in the Carolinas

Soliant Health, they are based in Atlanta, GA so they have good relationships with the hospitals in the south. My recruiter was good at getting me something fast, just not necessarily in the areas I really wanted to be. But overall they are good to work for.

[kristinaf022]

This just happened to me as well. I am with AMN, accepted an assignment in Palo Alto, and I am making significantly less per hour. This is the explaination my recruiter tells me, I have no way to validate the authenticity of what I have been told;

Sanford is a highly desireable hospital, with desireable location, supply and demand, they will not offer travel nurse companies a better deal because they "don't have to"

The CA law with "more than 8 hrs being overtime" makes the amount look even lower, because the last 4hrs of the 12hr shift is overtime. This still confuses me.

And while my recriuter did not say this, I'm sure the cost of living component doesn't help raise hourly pay, if the company has to pay a higher housing stipend or pay more to set you up, they still have to get paid at the end of the day. I feel scetchy about all of this, I also heard that core staff get paid.... A LOT and I have a hard time believing the compensation differences are so vastly different for doing the same job in a legal way. I do not know the law to back any of this up, if anyone has references I'd be interested in doing a little of my own research, just don't know where to start. This is also my third travel assignment, and I ended up accepting it after some lengthy discussion.

[NedRN]

AMN has an "exclusive" contract at Stanford, although as the vendor manager they do contract with other agencies to help fill needs. Yes, Stanford employees do make a lot more - new grads at about $40 an hour, and senior staff can be around $70 base. Yes, employing travelers at much lower rates is legal and when you factor in staff benefits, travelers cost many hospitals in California less than staff. I often wonder why the union does not object though. Staff are surprised when they find out what we make there.

Housing is likely to cost around $2,000 a month or more, so with a fixed bill rate, that does cut into your hourly significantly with any agency. If you need to make more, taking the housing stipend and getting a houseshare at around $700 can increase your take home significantly. The last time I worked at Stanford, I found a great room with a great family about a mile away for $600 and bicycled to work.

You can read more about vendor managers and California overtime in articles on PanTravelers if you are interested. There are some wrinkles that you can sometimes work to your advantage.