Paying Your Personal Assistant
As an employer you have to pay certain payroll taxes on behalf of your personal assistant. This means you must withhold these amounts from your assistant’s pay. A payroll service can make sure you withhold the right amount, pay taxes and insurance premium (see below), and write paychecks for your personal assistant.

How you pay your personal assistant may depend on whether you are paying from your own money or with MaineCare funds. If you use a MaineCare consumer-directed personal assistance services program, the program will provide payroll services through a “fiscal intermediary.” Contact Alpha One for more information.

Alpha One Center for Independent Living
Voice: (800) 640-7200, TTY: (866) 906-5375
http://www.alpha-one.org

For more information about paying your personal assistant, check out the following website:

Maine Department of Labor, Division of Wages and Hours This site has information about minimum wage rates and overtime rules for all workers, including personal assistants.
http://www.maine.gov/labor/bls/wagehour.htm

Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation (also called Workers' Comp) is insurance that pays a worker who is injured on the job. You may have to provide Workers' Comp for your worker and pay Workers' Comp insurance premiums to protect your worker and to protect you from being sued. Alpha One (see above) has information about Workers' Comp for personal assistants.

You can also get more information here:

Maine Workers’ Compensation Board
Voice: (888) 801-9087 or (207) 287-3751; TTY (207) 287-6119
http://www.state.me.us/wcb/departments/Regions/regionindex.htm

Safety and Training
As an employer, you are responsible for the safety of people who work for you. You may need to provide training to your workers about how to work safely. For example, you may be required to send your workers to a training on how to safely handle blood and other bodily fluids. 

Health Insurance
Health insurance may be important for your personal assistant to stay healthy on the job. If your personal assistant needs health insurance or low-cost health services, here are some ways to find out what is available:

• Consumers for Affordable Healthcare Resource Guide
  This site has links to lots of programs in Maine that provide low-cost health insurance or health services.
  http://www.mainecahc.org/healthcare/otherprogramsinmaine.htm
• MaineCare (Medicaid) – MaineCare
  MaineCare is full-coverage health insurance for some low-income people and their families.
  http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/bfi/MaineCare.htm
• DirigoChoice
  This is Maine’s new affordable health insurance option for self-employed people and small business owners.
  http://www.dirigohealth.maine.gov/dhlp02.html
  

Other Laws and Rules for Employers and Employees

Employee Rights Guide
As a good employer, you’ll want to understand the rights your personal assistant has as an employee. This is a guide from the Maine Department of Labor.
http://www.maine.gov/labor/bls/employeerightsguide.htm