Less than forthright recruiter

I have a tendency to believe in 2nd chances, but he failed to disclose a couple key elements. However, I'm wondering about this "stipend". Is it tax free? And if so, how does it work that you get it if you aren't traveling and assuming added living expenses while maintaining a primary home? I get a sense that you are doing more local agency work, so I don't know how tax free money is possible. And based on this, I'd suggest you make sure Uncle Sam isn't going to make your life a nightmare if they decide to audit you.

I've never heard of any "stipend" doing agency work. I'd want more info on all that, how it works, where does this thing come from?

Considering that the last agency I worked for paid $26/hr at a horrible hospital.....I might go to to work for an agency that paid $35!

i related my experience at the poorly staffed hospital recently. that was my first shift for a second agency that i've signed on with.

i signed on with this agency in response to a recruiting ad on craigslist. i'm happy with my agency, but the office i'm working through only staffs the eastern half of my state. i'm in the middle of my state and can go in either direction, with the major metropolitan area of the state being to the west of me by 70-80 miles.

my recruiter told me that their agency paid the best in the area. i told him that i'm making $46 hourly for days for my current agency, and he assured me that he would meet or exceed that. he also told me that they had an excellent relationship with the horrible hospital that i got sent to.

i just got my first paycheck and only got $35 an hour for that shift from h**l!

i emailed my recruiter (names have been changed) saying---

dear billy,

was there some sort of mistake on my paycheck? i received only $35 an hour for that shift in h**l! i'm making $46 hourly for (other agency), and i was expecting to make more than that on the west side of the state. when i worked for (my old hospital) i was making $33 hourly as a regular employee. sorry, but $35 hourly for agency work is unacceptable for me, i think i'll stick with (my current agency), unless there's been an error.

sincerely, jlsrn

he emailed me:

hey jlsrn

h**l is one of are lower paying facilities but the reason it was so low was because we couldn't pay you in stipends. i received the tax declaration that you sent in the mail yesterday. i spoke with payroll and we can't pay with stipends unless we have that form. i'm sorry but there really wasn't anything i could do, i tried to see if we could hold off on printing your check until we received it but they had already ran payroll. now that i received that, we can pay you in stipends and you'll make nothing less than $46/hr, especially at (well known, good hospital) and (another huge hospital with excellent reputation).

i'm sorry and i hope you understand.

billy

i answered him:

billy,

you didn't tell me that ahead of time. you told me that my wage for your agency would meet or exceed what i'm making for (my current agency). that does nothing to build any sort of trust in you as my agent. (my current agency) pays $46 an hour straight wages, and i get $51 hourly on weekends. there is no stipend involved.

do you see where i'm coming from? $35 an hour is basically unheard of for agency nursing. you told me that yours was the highest paying agency in the region. you didn't tell me that i'd be making less when i went to h**l, nor did you tell me that they were the worst staffed hospital in the region.

what do you guys think? i'm thinking that i should chuck this guy and his agency...

i would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction. your first mistake was signing on with a craig's list posting. that would have sent my red flags a'flyn'. if they can't recruit from reputable job boards ie: career builder, i would not trust them.

just my worth

mydnightnurse

This is a well established agency, but I don't trust this recruiter.

so maybe speak with his supervisor to express your concerns?

I would probably follow through with what he said just to see if there is a difference after you submit what is required. If there is still an issue, then, I would slip out the back, jack! :0)

if you decide to go with this guy again make sure that you have everything written down with everything spelled out

agency is rough and these nurses deserve everything they get BUT NOT A SHAFT

I contacted my current agency and they sent my profile to the office in the western half of the state, and I've already talked to them. I don't want to deal with this guy again.

He's talking both sides of his mouth. He was in a big rush to have me fax my timesheet, but I had been so anxious to get out of that hospital from H**L that I decided to mail it instead, telling him that I'm not in a huge hurry to get paid since I don't live paycheck to paycheck.

Sorry, his story is inconsistant.