Q: What are the requirements for hiring a healthcare worker example “ecg technicians” for a Telehealth company?

A: Regardless of what the parties call themselves, an employee is an employee. Many employers misclassify employees as 1099 independent contractors. Maybe the following example will help.

When most people hire plumbers, the hiring persons are not in the plumbing business. A licensed plumber, carrying their own liability and workers compensation insurance shows up. The hiring person does not provide tools for the plumber, does not tell them how to do their job, nor how long the job should take to perform. The plumber arrives when their schedule permits and plumbers usually have many customers unless all of their plumbing is performed for one company. Then they are usually employees.

An ecg technician might work for several medical care providers but they should have their own business name, bank accounts, insurance, equipment to perform their jobs, show up as they please, be paid not by the hour but usually by a job or patient, usually working for other providers concurrently, etc... All of these conditions may still not make them a 1099 contractor since both primary care provider and ecg technician are in the same business of providing healthcare services. The DOL could deem such a person an employee and assess penalties against the employer after reclassifying the employee. The analysis is more complex and requires evaluation on a case by case basis. There is no one size fits all.

Call some employment lawyers and request their assistance because mistakes can be rather costly.