8.1 Personal Assistants

You may find hiring a personal assistant to be helpful to your business. In hiring a personal assistant, you become an employer and have employer responsibility in that relationship. Interviewing, hiring, and contracting with the assistant will be solely up to you. You agree that any assistant you hire will be required to abide by this Policy Manual. If your assistant engages in any conduct that would violate this Policy Manual, or in any way acts in a manner to bring disrepute or potential liability to the Company, the Company reserves the right to demand that you terminate the assistant or otherwise prohibit him/her from entering the office for any reason, at any time.

Any compensation due the assistant shall be arranged between you and your assistant and will be your sole responsibility.

A growing trend in the real estate business is for high producing agents to use specific persons as their assistants and/or to associate with other licensees as a “team.” The Company encourages the appropriate use of personal assistants and teams as a tool for high earning agents to be even more productive. Several caveats are in order from the perspective of the company. Many of the distinctions are based on whether a licensed or unlicensed assistant and/or team members are used. The Company, policies on the use of personal assistants and/or teams is as follows:

1. Employee vs. Independent Contractor: Whether licensed or unlicensed, the agent must decide whether to associate with the personal assistant or team member (hereafter "PA/TM") as an employee or independent contractor.

Serious considerations exist including the right of control, method of payment, and direction of the work if the agent chooses to have an independent contractor PA/TM. The Company strongly urges the agent to consult with her/his tax consultant to determine the proper procedures in making this choice. If independent contractor status is chosen, all of the issues mentioned above regarding withholdings, unemployment taxes, worker's compensation, and automobile insurance should be clear in the arrangement between the agent and the PA/TM.

If employee status is chosen, the agent should be aware that all employment taxes, withholding reports, unemployment tax reports, workers’ compensation insurance, reports, and W2 forms are the responsibility of the agent. The Company is not a party to the arrangement between the agent and PA/TM and will not be responsible for any employment activities of the agent.

2. Unlicensed Personal Assistants/Team Members: The policy of the Company is that personal assistants or team members who do not have active licenses WILL NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES engage in the practice of real estate services as defined in the real estate licensing law. The agent associating with the PA/TM is strictly responsible for maintaining this policy. If an unlicensed PA/TM performs any service which constitutes the practice of licensed real estate activities, the agent puts her/himself in jeopardy of disassociation. The state real estate regulators have taken a position as to the types of things unlicensed office personnel may and may not do. Please review the state policies to determine the items that apply to you. The policy of the Company is that unlicensed personal assistants fall into the same category as unlicensed office personnel.

The agent is further advised that unlicensed persons may not be paid any fees or commissions for any work done. The company will not split commissions with an unlicensed person.

3. Licensed Personal Assistants/Team Members: A PA/TM with an active license can engage in the practice of real estate brokerage. It is the policy of the Company that unless written permission to the contrary is given by the Company, the license of the PA/TM must be held by the Company and any payments due a PA/TM for engaging in real estate brokerage must come from the Company. Please review the section of "Functions of Unlicensed Office Personnel" to determine the difference between "clerical" functions and "real estate" functions. The easiest and cleanest way to accomplish this end is for the agent to split commissions as they are earned with the licensed PA/TM in whatever proportion the two parties negotiate. The amount of the split between the PA/TM and the agent should be specific and regular and should not vary per transaction. The company requires written agreements between the Company and both agents to delineate the relationship and also requires the PA/TM and agent to enter into a written agreement defining the relationship and specifying the compensation arrangement.