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I have the opportunity to work sporadically/seasonally with a physician. He seems harmless in person, and his practice has good online reviews. The work would be occasional, and he would not be my employer in the traditional sense. I would work as an independent contractor, and I would speak to him every few weeks at most.
Here is what I found out about him after a brief online search:
he is divorced
he has a domenstic violence record for attacking his ex-wife
he declared bankruptcy about 10 years ago for reasons that are unclear (I’m not a finance person and probably wouldn’t understand anyway)
Given that he seems professional and normal in person, should I work for him as a contractor?
P.S. The work I do would be remote.
UPDATE:
I decided not to work with him. Thank you all for your advice!
If you had already started working with him it would be a different case because then you wouldn't have a choice. But now you do. You found out extremely disturbing facts about him in advance and now you have to take them into account. DON'T DO IT, DON'T WORK WITH HIM. Even though it's remote! It's not worth the risk.
I think you need to sincerely ask yourself the question "is it important for me to have my employer's values align with my own?" Some will say that all is fair in love and capitalism. If that is your view, take that work, make your money and forget about what he does with his personal life. If it IS important for you to align your values with your employer, even if contracted then you're going to have to be quite picky which has the potential to affect your finances. You'll have to be OK with that. Honestly, both views are valid in my opinion.
I would avoid this as much as humanly possible. Sometimes you do have to meet the person you're working with, even if it's a remote job.
Unless you're really hurting for money, absolutely do not... even if you do need the money, do other clients come along for you? It's not worth the risk to your own personal safety. Why isn't your safety a top priority for you?
It's not safer just because he's not technically your employer... It's unsafe to mingle with this guy at all.. do you really want to gamble with the type of attacks he did to his ex? Was it strangulation, etc.? He's unhinged and violent against women. That's all you need to know. His ex wasn't the first nor the last...
A sincere question... why did you screen him at all and then proceed to try to sweep this under the rug and still consider taking him as a client like what you found out about him is no big deal?
Be happy you figured this out and take it seriously.
Only if the money is worth it, but if you're going to do that, I'd sabotage him somehow on the way out.
DV convictions usually only happen after a WHILE of domestic abuse, so they probably only caught the tail end of the shit he pulled.
If you DO end up asking him about it, just be aware that men lie more than women about everything (they have stats on that.)
I would also ignore sarcastic comments. Not everybody here comes from the same background. Some need money more than others or a portfolio. You didn't ask about DATING a woman abuser. Your job is important in an imperfect world.
If you saw a post like this on this forum, how would you respond to the poster?