Dental practices may occasionally use temporary employees, host interns, hire minors or allow students to shadow within the practice. While these arrangements can provide valuable staffing support and educational opportunities, CDA Employment Practices Analyst Michelle Coker says they also create unique legal, compliance, and liability considerations.
“We’ve been getting a lot of questions in this area from members,” Coker said. Here are a few scenarios members have sought guidance on:
- A practice hired an employee for a one-day assignment, which created an employee relationship. At the end of the day, the worker left quickly before collecting her day’s pay and told the practice to mail it. They did, but she claimed she never received it, which created a costly late-pay situation.
- A practice wanted to have a student observe in the practice several days a week over the entire summer. Is this allowable under law, or would this amount of time create an employment relationship? (Quick answer: It creates an employee relationship, which requires hiring and paying minimum wage.)
- A practice owner inquired whether he was responsible for collecting a completed Form I-9 and other hiring documentation for a temporary worker hired through a dental staffing referral agency. (Quick answer: Yes. Temporary workers are considered employees, even if the assignment is a single day.)
“We are here for our members with one-on-one guidance by phone and email, but when we start to see a trending topic, and we don’t have a current resource for members, we might decide it’s time to develop comprehensive guidance for all,” Coker said. “That’s what we did here. This is a broad topic with many legal nuances.”
Guidance addresses wage and hour obligations, supervision requirements
CDA’s new guidance covers the unique considerations of hosting interns and observers, working with volunteers, hiring minors as employees and hiring temporary employees. It addresses wage and hour obligations, supervision requirements, patient confidentiality, workplace safety, insurance considerations and other concerns and provides best practices for reducing risk.
“Practices that understand the distinctions between these types of workers and observers can create positive workplace experiences while maintaining compliance and protecting patients, team members and the practice,” Coker added.
CDA members can sign in to use Minors, Temporary Employees, Interns, Volunteers and Observers: Rules and Guidance on Hiring and Hosting.