parallon

SpookyRN, BSN · Mar 26, 2014

Thats good to know! I was considering looking into them after this contract was up.

:up:

ASHRN828 · Mar 28, 2014

NedRN, is this true?

NedRN · Mar 28, 2014

It seems to be a policy that is enforced intermittently, perhaps a simple failure to crosscheck submitted travelers from subcontracting agencies. It should appear in the traveler contract, but may not. Completely legal. Of course you will still be able to be hired as staff at an HCA hospital, you would only be prohibited from working as a traveler for anyone but Parallon.

If a traveler has to work at an HCA hospital (I always question that need of course), I recommend working for a subcontracting agency which are legion. One is that this avoids this issue of being locked into one agency to work at HCA hospitals, a second is that you now have someone working on your behalf, at least in theory (since Parallon is an HCA subsidiary, effectively they will always take the hospital's side), a third is that you often get better pay, somewhat paradoxically until you understand the underlying dynamics. The tax benefits are usually better as well if you chose an agency other than Parallon.

The downside to working for a subcontracting agency is that of course Parallon direct travelers will get first crack at jobs. Like any other agency, Parallon no doubt has a lot of happy long term travelers. Perhaps because they have never worked at non-HCA hospitals (he says snarkily). I get the idea that allied health travelers are happier with Parallon than nurse travelers, but of course in general, allied health gets treated better than nurses because allied is a revenue source (bill for service) rather than an expense item.

TRVLNRS · Aug 28, 2014

I do not recommend going through Parallon directly. I signed up for an 8 week assignment and it was a nightmare. They got 3 out of 8 paychecks correct. I fought and fought for my pay, and had to send myriads of emails and paperwork to get it done. In the end, they STILL didn't get it right. The good thing is - I filed with California's Dept. of Labor for the pay due me and won. I had it well-documented. I had to take screenshots of the online time keeping system, because it would magically disappear once that week was gone - and only their 'report' would show up - incorrectly! Bottom line - for $611 due me, I got a check from Parallon paying penalties of $11,656.00, plus the $611, for a total of $12,267.00. Yes, that's correct. Companies are penalized daily up to 30 days in CA, if they owe you and haven't paid. DO NOT let companies steal your pay from you. I have been a travel nurse since 2005, and have never, ever had this kind of problem with any other travel agency I worked for. I will not work another contract through Parallon. The hospital I was at was non-HCA. The main thing to take away from this is document, document, document. You're a nurse. You know how to do that. Document your hours in several ways, and DO NOT depend on the hospital or agency's system. Back it up yourself. Happy travels.

NedRN · Aug 28, 2014

Thanks for that post. I had thought you needed a lawyer to collect penalties on top of pay owed.

It it sounds as if the hospital was complicit in the pay issue. Parallon should have a profit motive to bill for more hours, not fewer. Can you tell us the name of the hospital? I'm also very curious about non HCA hospitals that Parallon contracts with.

TRVLNRS · Aug 28, 2014

NedRN, I do not believe the hospital was complicit. In fact, they backed me up 100%, and had documentation also. I like the hospital and the people I work with there. The payroll person at the hospital submitted the correct and corrected hours, as well as me submitting them. It was Parallon's problem. They just recently took over the staffing - at least the temp staffing - at the hospital. Every agency has to go through them now. NedRN if you'll email me at [email protected] I'll tell you the hospital.

NedRN · Aug 28, 2014

Thanks. Sending email.

justjude60 · Aug 28, 2014

i have worked for parallon since 2012. i did just finish a contract at a non=hca hospital with nightingale. the new worst agency. parallon has it's faults but their pay is good, never had a problem with my pay check and they work hard to get you an interview right away. i signed up with an agency that was rated #1 on the list of top travel companies on this site. had no jobs in the states i wanted, never called me and frankly dont impress me. most of their jobs wanted video testing which i have done before but most hospitals have stopped using. i have traveled since 2000 so i have a lot of experience with lots of agencies. at the end of the day it is not the agency it is the recruiter.

NedRN · Aug 28, 2014

There is a list of top agencies here?

justjude60 · Aug 28, 2014

at the top of this page ned.

TRVLNRS · Aug 28, 2014

justjude60, I'm glad your experiences have been okay. This was a nightmare for me, seriously. I hope you don't ever have a problem with your paycheck, it's not fun, believe me. Especially when you're shorted or not paid correctly on 5 of 8 paychecks. That's why meticulous documentation is important when it comes to the hours you work and your pay due. Before this experience, I would have said it was the recruiter, and I've changed recruiters when I didn't mesh with the one I was assigned, but in this case, it was definitely the agency. The recruiter could only go so far, and I was continuously shuffled down the line on the pay issues. Maybe they'll work out their pay problems and it will smooth over, but for the time I was there, it was pretty bad. I was hoping to travel elsewhere with Parallon, but I've been burned once. That's enough. Luckily I got compensated well for it.