More Questions Regarding Hiring Assistants And A Variance

[Luvnmykidz]

So my first question is how likely is it to get a variance in MD? I currently am not at my max capacity for kids. I have someone on my waiting list to start in August. Parent is really needing to start in June, or July if at all possible. I have 2 infants currently. One infant will be 2 July 30. I am hiring 1 assistant that had CPR/First Aid, SIDS, Infant Safety and is willing to get any other trainings I deem necessary. Is it likely to get approved if this staff member is here when the other infant (5 months) is here?
Next question being that this is a family daycare are we held to the same standards as any other business when it comes to minimum wage? I am looking to hire two staff members for part time during the summer just to be extra hands for our field trips and fun activites. These girls are going to take the trainings I require, are CPR certified and will not ever be left alone with the kids. They are graduating high school (18 and 19) and planning to start college in the fall for early childhood. Minimum wage in my area is $8 but will increase to $8.25 in July.

[Thriftylady]

So my first question is how likely is it to get a variance in MD? I currently am not at my max capacity for kids. I have someone on my waiting list to start in August. Parent is really needing to start in June, or July if at all possible. I have 2 infants currently. One infant will be 2 July 30. I am hiring 1 assistant that had CPR/First Aid, SIDS, Infant Safety and is willing to get any other trainings I deem necessary. Is it likely to get approved if this staff member is here when the other infant (5 months) is here?
Next question being that this is a family daycare are we held to the same standards as any other business when it comes to minimum wage? I am looking to hire two staff members for part time during the summer just to be extra hands for our field trips and fun activites. These girls are going to take the trainings I require, are CPR certified and will not ever be left alone with the kids. They are graduating high school (18 and 19) and planning to start college in the fall for early childhood. Minimum wage in my area is $8 but will increase to $8.25 in July.

If you are hiring people, I don't see any way of getting out of min. wage. I also don't see anyone looking at working for you without it. The first question you need to ask is would you work for less than that? I know as in home providers we do at times, but if you were going to drive to work, do required trainings, dress appropriately, do the job, and care for the kids as one should, would you work for less? I am guessing the answer is no, after all who would? Age doesn't matter, I was raising my son and supporting my own household at 17, I had to make an honest wage.

[Luvnmykidz]

If you are hiring people, I don't see any way of getting out of min. wage. I also don't see anyone looking at working for you without it. The first question you need to ask is would you work for less than that? I know as in home providers we do at times, but if you were going to drive to work, do required trainings, dress appropriately, do the job, and care for the kids as one should, would you work for less? I am guessing the answer is no, after all who would? Age doesn't matter, I was raising my son and supporting my own household at 17, I had to make an honest wage.

I absolutely agree. I will be paying for the trainings and paying for the hours it costs for them to take the class. I guess my reason for asking was because the younger girls asked if they would be paid at least $7.25 and stated that another provider they worked for only paid them $7.00 per hour. I questioned them on it and they said she told them that home daycares don't have to follow the minimum wage standards because our pay is so low. I honestly hadn't considered paying anyone under minimum wage, but was curious about if it was true or not. A college student also informed me during a previous interview that during the school year she gets paid $6.80 per hour because there is a clause within the standards that state full time students only have to be paid 85% of minimum wage. I told her I wasn't aware of that, she stated she verified it with someone at her college. This is all new to me and I definitely don't want to pay anyone crappy or do anything illegal. I left home at 17 and required a full time minimum wage paying job to survive, definitely get it .

[sahm1225]

If you go to your states department of labor website it will tell you what the minimum requirements are.

For example, in Illinois, you can pay less than minimum wage for someone under the age of 20 for their first 90 days. You can also pay less if they are a student and only working part time (20 hours or less). Our minimum wage is going up to $10 in July, but if you have less than 4 employees, you can pay the federal minimum wage.

You can go to your specific state and see what it says.

One thing to keep in mind is that your state might have some other requirements if you hire employees. For example, I have to pay for workers comp. There's also the monthly payment to the payroll company that handles deducting and paying their taxes.

Good luck!

[itlw8]

do not forget that you HAVE to get workmans comp ins if you have employees and unemployment ins is also required I think

[Luvnmykidz]

Thank you so much for the responses. I'm still wondering if anyone has information on how variances work in this state and if it's likely to have one approved. Thanks again ladies.

[Abigail]

Are you only hiring someone temporarily for two months if you can enroll this one infant early? Short-term hiring isn't worth it because you need to have to carry certain insurances BEFORE hiring your first employee. You also have to MATCH what they pay for social security and medicare AND you need to keep track of their federal withholdings and state if you pay state taxes. I withhold it and pay in quarterly here in North Dakota and it adds up! You should post locally for support from someone in your city and they'll be able to help you best with personal experience.

Also, no matter what the minimum wage is, IF you hire someone and can only afford minimum wage and they walk out on you when you need them, good luck finding someone the next day to replace them. I've found over three years of hiring I started at $8 and minimum wage is $7.25 that I wasn't finding quality of people. Then I jumped to $9 for starting pay (unless it's a part time opening and someone still in high school, then it's less) and some get more than that starting as well and they last and since it's in my budget if I have turnover I can quickly compete with the centers and hire a caregiver sooner for our home daycare since I can match what they could get (potentially) at a center or other home daycare.

Best of luck!