Use of registry employees can pose legal problems

In view of the potential legal liability to which a recipient entity can be exposed when using registry employees, some care must be taken in drafting registry contract services and in modulating the recipient entity's behavior towards the registry personnel. The following steps should generally be taken by health care establishments purchasing registry services to minimize such exposure: (1) Ensure that the registry treats its personnel as employees and complies with all applicable employment law obligations, including state and federal employment tax requirements, workers' compensation laws, and any state law wage and hour requirements in the recipient's state. (2) If using an out-of-state registry, make sure that the registry also has workers' compensation insurance in the recipient's state and complies with that state workers' compensation laws. (3) Make sure that termination decisions regarding registry employees are not made for reasons that violate any federal anti-discrimination laws. (4) Provide in the registry agreement for full indemnification by the registry to the recipient. (5) Ensure that the registry is solvent and has adequate insurance to honor its indemnification obligation. (6) Obtain a warranty from the registry that it carefully screens all of its employees before hiring them. (7) Expressly state in the registry agreement that the registry has the right to discipline and supervise the personnel it refers. (8) Do not reject registry personnel for reasons that would be improper with respect to the facility's own employees, e.g., race, sex, age, religion, disability, etc.