BONDING OF EMPLOYEES AT GATE HOUSE

Started by JoanneD1 • 5 replies • 1374 views

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JoanneD1 (Arizona)
Posts: 447

Posted:

Good Morning from AZ. Again I need some help. Much to my dismay, the HOA employees 6 people who serve as "gate" staff which entails opening the gates to owners/authorized visitors and also to sort the bulk mail deliveries. Because of the changing times we live in, I have become more concerned about the liabilities my HOA has to assume because of the employment of these folks. I would much prefer to outsource but it would be a battle and a half to get the majority of owners on board because they remember the "old" days. We have had items of mail that go missing and just a whole list of other mishaps but what I am concerned with is the fact that most owners keep a set of house keys there so that service people can come in and do pools etc in the owners absence. In my recent term on the BOD, I learned that there were NO background checks being performed on these employees! the current PM will NOT do them and cites something about he not wanting the liability...so we hire a company used by a neighboring HOA. We recently asked if the guards were BONDED and we never really got a straight answer and we were shut up with a response that the HOA has insurance. I do not believe that is the same thing and have done some research to try and work with FACTS and not assumptions. Can someone give me a reference so I can demonstrate that we need more than community blanket insurance. I know there is a policy for the BOD but would like to know more. Thanks again and look forward to the help that is always wonderful.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,062

Posted:

Joanne,

I am not an expert in insurance at all. The way I understand our Associations crime policy is that if the individual is an employee of the association then they will be covered by the policy. However, if the individual is an independent contractor then they will not be covered by the policy.

My understanding that one of the major indicators between the two is the requirement of the Association to issue a W2 vs. a 1099 to show earnings. Employees receive a W2 and independent contractors would receive a 1099 or nothing at all.

I concur with your concerns and encourage you to have the Board pose the question of coverage to the insurance company. If they individuals are not covered, then you should make bonding and background checks a condition of the contract.

Tim

SusanW1 (Michigan)
Posts: 5,202

Posted:

You should be dealing with an agency or company that does those services.

Dont get the HOA involved in all that "vetting" of its contracted service employees.

Insist that the company provide you with proof that their employees are bonded and screened.

SteveM9 (Massachusetts)
Posts: 3,699

Posted:

Quote:

6 people who serve as "gate" staff which entails opening the gates to owners/authorized visitors and also to sort the bulk mail deliveries.

Well.... good luck. You will find that many people who have jobs such as gate watcher, or security guard have made many, very poor decisions in life. This is why they have such a crappy job. You will find it very hard to get people without records, and those who do have clean records, will just move on to other jobs.

Good luck, but be prepared to pay more for people with clean records if you want to keep them.

FredS7 (Arizona)
Posts: 927

Posted:

>We have had items of mail that go missing

I've had two weeks of mail go missing because the post office screwed up. Don't assume that it's your staff.

>most owners keep a set of house keys there

a personal choice unless for some reason leaving keys is required

>We recently asked if the guards were BONDED

As far as I know bonding is appropriate for someone handling signficant quantities of money, like staff handling payments. Bonding for the guy that opens the gate seems way overkill.

>>be prepared to pay more for people with clean records if you want to keep them.

I think that is exactly right. I sometimes suspect that without people with records and visa issues we would have less than no-one to do gardening. Etc. etc.

JoanneD1 (Arizona)
Posts: 447

Posted:

THANK YOU ALL for the wonderful replies. Yes we have the mail pigeon holes in the guard shack and we too have had mail missing and some very odd things but I am concerned about the liability in this legal crazy society. The PM says his company will NOT do background checks and although we have asked, I never really understood his reply. When our community came into being some 30 yrs ago, we had retired guys and times were so very different. Being that we are only 79 units in an aging community, it gets more and more expensive to live here and now AZ has passed this ridiculous $400 max transfer fee. That hurts us quite badly. Thanks again!

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