These Referral Program Terms ("Terms") govern Critical's clinician referral program. By generating a referral link, sharing it, or claiming a payout, you agree to these Terms in addition to Critical's main Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

1. Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years of age and legally able to enter into binding contracts.
• You must be a U.S. tax resident or able to provide a valid IRS Form W-9. (Non-resident referrers are not currently supported.)
• Critical employees, contractors, and immediate family members of employees are not eligible to claim referral bonuses.
• You may not generate referral links on behalf of another person without their written consent.

2. Definition of a Successful Referral

A referral is "successful" and a bonus is owed only when all of the following occur:

• The referee clicks your unique referral link and submits an application via Critical (the link must be the first-touch attribution channel for that candidate).
• The referee is offered, accepts, and completes their first locum assignment booked through Critical.
• Completion is determined solely by Critical based on the assignment's contracted end date and any facility confirmations of work performed.
• The 180-day window from referral creation has not elapsed before the referee's application is submitted.

3. Bonus Amount

Each open Critical job carries its own referral bonus, displayed at the time you generate the link. The bonus is locked at the bonus value of the specific job your link was tied to ("origin job"). If the referee instead completes a different Critical assignment ("any-Critical-job mechanism"), the origin job's bonus still applies.

4. Prohibited Practices (Disqualifying Conduct)

• Self-referral: referring yourself, an alias, or any account under your control.
• Shell companies / paid intermediaries: referring a candidate solely to route a payout to yourself.
• Referral chains: the referee may not be incentivized to refer the original referrer or vice versa.
• Spam: mass-emailing, SMS-spamming, paid placement on coupon/cashback sites, or unsolicited cold outreach to clinicians who have not consented to referrals from you.
• Misrepresentation: falsifying any information about yourself, the referee, or the referral relationship.
• Healthcare anti-kickback / Stark Law: you represent that your referral does not violate the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7b), the Stark Law (42 U.S.C. § 1395nn), or any state analog. You must not have a financial relationship with the referred physician that would make this referral an unlawful inducement to refer patients or business.

5. Tax Responsibility

• Referral bonuses are reportable income. Critical will issue an IRS Form 1099-NEC for any referrer whose total Critical-paid bonuses meet or exceed $600 in a calendar year.
• You must provide an accurate, valid IRS Form W-9 (TIN, legal name, address) to receive any payout. Submission of false TIN information is grounds for clawback and potential IRS penalties.
• If your TIN is missing or fails IRS verification, Critical will apply 24% backup withholding under IRC § 3406 to the gross bonus until corrected.
• Critical does not provide tax advice. Consult your tax professional.

6. Verification, Disputes, and Clawback

• Critical reserves the right to verify the legitimacy of any referral before payout. Verification may include IP/device checks, cross-referencing addresses and account information, and contacting the referee.
• Bonuses with unresolved fraud flags may be placed in disputed status pending review. Resolution decisions are at Critical's reasonable discretion.
• If, after payout, Critical determines that the referral was procured by misrepresentation, that the assignment was not in fact completed, or that the placement was reversed (no-show, contract terminated for cause, etc.), Critical may record a clawback and recover the paid amount by any lawful means, including offset against future bonuses.
• Bonuses are not guaranteed and are subject to eligibility and these Terms.

7. Payment Timing and Method

• Payment is initiated only after (a) the referee's first assignment is marked completed, (b) you submit a valid claim form including W-9 and payout instructions, (c) any fraud flags are resolved, and (d) at least 24 hours have elapsed since claim submission to allow operational review.
• Payment is made by ACH transfer or mailed check, at your election. Critical does not currently support international wires, cryptocurrency, or third-party gateway payouts.
• Typical payment timing is 5-15 business days following all the above conditions being met.

8. Privacy

Your referrer email and contact info are processed under our Privacy Policy. Tax-related personal information (W-9, TIN, payment account details) is encrypted at rest, retained for 7 years from final payment per IRS requirements, and then purged. We do not share W-9 data with the referee or with any party other than Critical and its tax/audit advisors as required by law.

9. Modifications

Critical may update these Terms from time to time. The version in effect at the time you create or claim a referral applies to that specific referral. Material changes will be communicated by email to the referrer of record.

10. Contact

Questions about the program or your referral status: contact@onecritical.com.