Where Can You Find the Best Day Laborers to Hire for Your Business?

Jun 29, 2019

Places to Find Day Laborers

Day laborers are extremely helpful when it comes to home remodeling projects and running your very own business. Whether you are in need of assistance with a construction project or if you simply require additional manual labor, seeking out day laborers is one solution that is often affordable and possible without hiring full-time employees. When you are looking to hire a laborer for the day to help with your business, there are a few ways to go about doing so depending on your needs, location, and the amount of time you require from your day laborers. By learning about various ways to hire day laborers, find the very best candidates for your company’s next project.

 

What is a Day Laborer and How Can They Help My Business?

Day Laborers Help Your Business

A day laborer is an individual who is interested in taking on temporary positions or assisting with various physical jobs and tasks in exchange for payment. Oftentimes, day laborers are committed to their positions full-time, seeking different clients and paying customers to help earn a steady living. For individual entrepreneurs and business owners alike, there are many jobs and tasks that a day laborer can help to complete. Some types of work that day laborers often provide include:

  • Cleaning: Clean-up of work sites, construction materials, office spaces, and more. Whether you have a full-time staff or if you are working independently, day laborers are available to assist with the clean-up of most environments.
  • Transporting Materials: Whether you are building a new property for your business or if you are currently in the midst of a remodeling project, a day laborer can help.
  • Remodeling: Remodeling projects are extremely prevalent for those who currently work as day laborers. Painting, prepping a room, demolition, and other tasks involved in remodeling are also often covered with the help of a day laborer.
  • Tool Operation: Hire skilled day laborers who have experience with operating tools to assist with building and completing projects you are working on.
  • Operating Machinery: Many experienced day laborers are also well-versed in operating traditional machinery, including machines such as forklifts. Having day laborers to lend helping hands with machinery is a way to expedite the process of completing any project you are working on or have in mind.

 

Advantages of Working With Day Laborers

Day Laborers Pay and Wage

Before you choose to begin hiring day laborers, it is important to understand the benefits of doing so to determine the overall value of the process for your business. While hiring a full-time employee may be tempting, it is also extremely costly if you are also required to provide healthcare and access to various benefits such as a retirement fund or a 401K. Making the decision to hire day laborers is not always cut and dry, especially if you are in need of both temporary and permanent workers. Some of the advantages of working alongside day laborers with any type of project you are working on include:

  • Cost and ROI: Many day laborers are willing to work for an affordable rate, allowing small business owners and individual entrepreneurs the opportunity to pay an individual to help without breaking their own bank. Before you choose which day laborers to hire, it is highly advisable to discuss the pay you are willing to offer while also negotiation payment rates.
  • Availability: One of the biggest advantages of hiring a day laborer is their availability. Many day laborers are available each day, regardless of hours and the location in which you are planning to work. If you are working only with full-time employees and a traditional staff, you run the risk of individuals calling into work sick or simply not showing up at a designated job site when required. Day laborers are excellent backup staff members and are ready to get to work as soon as they are hired.
  • Work and Personal Experience: Day laborers who work full-time by taking on temporary positions have a broad range of skills in construction, gardening, and even home remodeling. Many day laborers are very familiar with physical work and manual labor, which is optimal for business owners in need of help with a physically demanding task. When hiring new day laborers, inquire about their personal experiences and past work experience to determine which individuals are the best fit for you. While some day laborers may excel in painting or demolition jobs, others may prefer to work outdoors in nature or even with vehicle repair. Day laborers are skilled in vastly different areas of life and work, which is why it is advisable to get to know the day laborers you choose before finalizing your decision to hire them for the day.

 

Drawbacks of Hiring a Day Laborer

Employment Background Check

While hiring a day laborer provides an array of benefits and advantages, it is also important to keep potential drawbacks and disadvantages in mind. Some of the most notable drawbacks of hiring a day laborer to help with a business include:

  • Background Checks: Hiring a day laborer means you are doing so without conducting full background checks. Without a complete background check, there is a risk of hiring an individual who is not qualified or who may have a criminal past.
  • Time Sensitive Work: Because you may need day laborers immediately, it is difficult to get to know each laborer individually, which may result in a decline of productivity if they are not a good fit. It is imperative to conduct thorough research on various day laborer centers and temp agencies near you before choosing which location is best to hire from for your business.
  • Status: In some cases, day laborers may not currently have legal status to be working in the country, depending on where they are located. Hiring illegal immigrants is against federal law, which may result in thousands of dollars in fines if you are caught hiring them. It is not always easy to determine whether or not a day laborer is of legal status in the US, which is why it can be a risky endeavor to hire day laborers from traditional pickup sites or parking lots where they are readily available to work.
  • Licensing and Qualifications: Whether you are searching for day laborers to help with a construction project or if you are remodeling a commercial property, not all day laborers are qualified to help. For traditional construction work and machinery handling, individuals are often required to obtain and hold various licenses and qualification certificates. When you choose to hire a day laborer without verifying their background and work history, you run the risk of breaking additional laws if you are caught paying laborers for work they are not legally permitted to complete. Before hiring day laborers to operate heavy machinery or to work with building materials, inquire about their qualifications and request to see any licensing and certifications they hold to their name. Many day laborers simply do not carry these items on their person, which makes it even more challenging to determine which laborers are being truthful and which individuals are simply looking to get a job as quickly as possible.

Any time you are considering day laborers for your business, it is important to compare the various options you have before selecting the right candidates for the job. If you are unsure about using a local pickup spot or a nearby parking lot, you may have better opportunities by working together with a local day laborer center.

 

What Are the Legalities of Hiring Day Laborers?

Day Labor Laws and Rights

If a day laborer is injured or hurt while working on a job for you, are you still liable? The answer is yes. It is imperative to remember that you as a business owner is responsible for any workplace injuries that occur while a day laborer is on the job. Before you begin hiring day laborers, be sure to verify that your insurance policies are up to date and currently active. Without proper insurance, you run the risk of facing a lawsuit which may lead to financial distress or the loss of your business altogether, regardless of its current viability.

If you are having work done in your home or for your home office, speak with your homeowner’s insurance agency to inquire about additional insurance options and plans that are right for you. A homeowner’s insurance agency may inquire about the number of individuals you intend to hire and whether or not the work is being done for your personal home or for your business. In some cases, you may be required to speak with another insurance provider to obtain additional business insurance.

Insurance for your business along with workplace insurance is essential once you begin hiring employees and working with temporary staff, even for short periods of time. Minimize and eliminate the risk of financial trouble and a lawsuit by verifying that your insurance is updated and active before you begin the hiring process.

 

Ideal Ways to Find Day Labor Near Me

Day Laborer Pick-Up Sites Near Me

If you want to know where to find day laborers near you, speak to other business owners and associates you work within similar industries. Not all day laborers are located in the same areas, which is why it is highly advisable to become familiar with your current location and surroundings before you begin hiring newcomers to your team or temporary staff. A few of the most popular ways to find day laborers in any city or region include:

  • Bulletins: Post bulletins at local grocery stores and popular shops that receive high traffic to attract day laborers. Use free bulletins throughout your town or city to garner the attention of prospective workers and to have more control over where you are finding and hiring the laborers you require.
  • Internet: Using the internet is another way to seek out the day laborers you require for any task or project. Use websites such as Craigslist and Angieslist or opt for social media platforms such as Facebook to seek out the most qualified and experienced candidates available near you.
  • Temp Agencies: Some temp agencies in your local area may also provide various resources to help you find suitable day workers for your business. Depending on the type of business you currently own, you may have the ability to choose various day laborers to hire based on their specific skill sets and abilities. Working together with a temp agency is a great way to learn more about the availability of day laborers and other independent contractors in your area.
  • Day Laborer Center: A day laborer center is a center that is designed specifically with the intent of providing individuals and business owners with qualified and experienced day laborers. A day laborer center does not focus on full-time employees who are seeking careers in a wide variety of fields from science to technology. Instead, they work with day laborers who are interested only in temporary or contractual work, rather than a full-time career. With a day laborer center, it is also much easier to hire individuals without feeling as if you are committing a crime, especially if the laborers outside of the center near you are not of legal status in the country.
  • On-Demand Hiring Websites: Using online services to hire day laborers is also possible. New temporary staffing services online operate similarly to Uber and Lyft, providing business owners with the opportunity to hire new individuals whenever they are in need. Using an online service is also a great way to learn more about the day laborers you are interested in hiring while also having the ability to store data and past hires with ease.

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Create an Employee Referral Program for Your Business

Referral Recruiting

If you currently run a business that hires full or part-time employees who are on your payroll, consider launching your very own employee referral program. Although most day laborers work only temporary jobs, it may be possible to cultivate short and long-term relationships with laborers who prove themselves to be hard workers and extremely valuable to your company.

Simply paying your employees for each day laborer they refer for a job you need to be completed is not always the best plan, especially if you require multiple day laborers each day. By offering an employee referral program, gain complete and total control over how you reward employees and how they receive their rewards. Whether you choose to offer a cash reward, bonuses, or even the potential for promotions based on the referrals they provide, having a program in place is highly advisable. With an employee referral program, it is also much easier to keep your employees feeling motivated to help you and your business to continue to grow and scale.

Referrals go a long way for day laborers, especially if they are currently out of work or in need of new jobs to take on. Additionally, when you have the trust and loyalty for your current employes, it becomes easier to seek out trustworthy day laborers who are experienced, skilled, and extremely reliable. Employees who are dedicated to their job working for you are less likely to refer day laborers who are not dependable or do not have a great work ethic.

 

Finding Day Laborer Sites Near YOU

Day Laborers in My Area

Even after you research various resources in your local area, you may simply want to know more about where day laborers are located for quick hiring. Common locations where day laborers are likely to be found include parking lots of popular home improvement stores such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, as well as strip malls or other heavily populated areas in your city or region.

Again, it is always important to remember that hiring an individual to work for you who is not currently a legal U.S citizen is illegal and can be punishable with fines and penalties totaling more than $10,000. If you are caught and charged with hiring illegal immigrants multiple times, you also run the risk of jail time, depending on the charges and the state in which you are currently located.

Ask friends, family members, and business associates you work with for referrals to day laborers they have hired in the past. Getting a referral for a day laborer is one way to gain peace of mind, especially if you are new to or unfamiliar with the entire process of hiring a day laborer or an independent contractor.

 

Use Local Day Laborer Center to Protect Yourself Legally

Legal Benefits of Day Laborer Centers

A local day laborer center is one of the best ways to find the day laborers you need with minimal legal or financial risk. Day laborer centers operate as non-profit organizations in most cases, providing all of the day laborers who are hired with 100% of all of the profits they earn while on the job.

Before you make the decision to hire day laborers, review various day laborer laws and rights. Ensure that you only hire day laborers while abiding by current laws in place to avoid infringing on the rights of those who choose to work for you. Abiding by the laws and rights of day laborers is a must for any business owner.

To find a local day laborer center near you, visit HireADayLaborer.org for more information about the process of hiring a day laborer and to discover which centers are closest to you. The website, HireADayLaborer.org, is owned and operated by The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON). The NDLON group is a well-known group that is currently based out of Los Angeles, California. Using the website is one way to gain insight into the overall day laborer culture in your area, whether you live in a metropolitan, urban, or rural area of the country.

When using the HireADayLaborer.org website, simply enter keywords that are relevant to your city and the type of work you are interested in. For instance, if you are living in Houston, Texas and you are in need of a forklift driver, use keywords such as “Houston forklift” while browsing the website. The more specific you are with the keywords you use, the more likely you are to receive relevant and useful results. It is important to keep in mind that locations with a heavier Hispanic population are likely to have more resources for hiring individuals and seeking out day laborers than regions without a dense Hispanic population.

In this video, ‘Hire a Day Laborer‘, a local community job center highlights hiring day laborers to assist with physical jobs and tasks for businesses and individuals alike. A local day laborer center is ideal to seek out qualified day labor candidates who are available and willing to work for you. When you choose to visit a local day laborer, it is also possible to inquire about various specialists and different types of laborers based on their current skill set and the type of field they are most qualified for and experienced in.

 

What is the Process of Working With a Day Laborer Center Like?

Understanding Day Laborer Center Procedures

Although day laborer centers operate as nonprofits, the employees who represent each center are extremely professional and experienced. Employees of day laborer centers are well-versed in the overall matchmaking of business owners or individuals with various types of day laborers. When you first arrive at a day laborer center, you will begin working together with an employee who will inquire about your needs and the type of work you are looking to have completed.

It is important to keep in mind that when working together with a reputable day laborer center, you are required to pay all day laborers a fair wage. Depending on your location and the current minimum wage in your state, you may be required to pay day laborers a minimum of $16 an hour or more. While using a day laborer center may cost you more than simply seeking day laborers available at a nearby parking lot, it is to ensure the overall quality of life of the laborers and to ensure they are receiving fair compensation for their time and the manual labor that is demanded from them.

You will then choose which laborers are best for the job you have in mind while providing specific details about the job site and when they are needed with the center. In most cases, you will be required to provide transportation for the laborer(s) you choose to hire, including a complete round trip from the day laborer center and the location of your job site. Inquire about alternate sources of transportation from the laborer center if you are unable to provide the transportation yourself. In some cases, labor centers may offer to transport laborers to and from a job site for an additional fee or surcharge.

Once you have chosen the day laborers you are interested in hiring, consider spending at least 30 to 60 minutes of your time getting acquainted with one another. If the day laborers you hire are not native to the country, they may require additional assistance and patience while communicating or learning to better understand their job and responsibilities.

Ask associates or employees you work with to assist you through the process of speaking to your new hires if you are unfamiliar with the language they speak. In most cases with day laborers, it is highly advisable to understand basic Spanish or to work with employees and other laborers who are bilingual and have a thorough understanding of the Spanish language.

After the work has been completed by the day laborer you have hired, pay your laborer in cash for the hours that they have worked. If the work is above average or excellent, consider an optional bonus, especially if you intend to work with the same laborer again in the future. Showing appreciation for your day laborers is extremely important to build a good rapport among the community of day laborers. Employers who are unfair to day laborers might eventually find it increasingly difficult to find suitable laborers for the jobs they have available.

Always be sure to inform day laborers if you require them for additional work or if you intend to work with them the following morning. Communication is key when building a working relationship with local day laborers, especially if you are interested in making long-lasting working connections that are willing to assist you at any time in the future. With proper communication, treatment, and fair wages, any business owner has the ability to find qualified and suitable day laborers to help with a wide range of tasks.

Knowing how to find the best day laborers for your business is a way to gain peace of mind while ensuring the job or project you have planned is done properly and on time. With the help of professional and experienced day laborers, focus on different aspects of your current project while knowing the work that needs to be done is in good hands.

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