Re: TOPICS YOU'D LIKE COVERED???

From: Cara Levinson
Email: CaraBLevinson@aol.com
Date: February 09, 2005

Comments

Yes, the daycare industry can be financially challenging, to say the least. As I mentioned previously, you have no choice but to pay your hourly employees their hourly rate for the time they spend in the continuing education courses that permit your center/home to stay licensed. Again, you do not have to pay for the courses themselves. But, as you say, these folks often cannot afford to front the $$ for the cost of the classes.

One compromise that I suggest is to have an attorney draft an agreement providing for repayment of the cost of the class should the employee quit before a certain length of time has passed after completing the course (perhaps one year). Unfortunately, drafting such an agreement should not be undertaken by a layperson because, at least in Illinois, there are very specific Department of Labor regulations concerning such agreements. But, such agreements often make employees think twice about quitting so soon and, if properly drafted, would enable you to recoup $$ at least from their final paycheck.