Why do we have to sign in & out for lunch?

Ev1987 · May 4, 2010

My facility also tells us to clock in and out for lunch. If you do 10 shifts in a 2 week timeslot, they deduct 5 hours from our paycheck. 75/80 hours paid. :icon_roll The rules at my place is to STILL clock in and out for lunchbreak, even if you don't take it. (like if you were too busy with your rounds) Then, report the incident to the supervisor for a break exemption. That way, you can get paid for the 30 minutes.

CoffeemateCNA · May 4, 2010

Only some facilities require you to clock in and out for lunch breaks; mine doesn't. I think the purposing of having people do it is just to keep them "honest." If you don't clock out for a break, it would be easy to take a 45 minute one and your boss would be none the wiser. Having to clock out keeps you accountable. It's also the employer's way of making sure they don't have to pay you any more than is absolutely necessary.

If you don't take a lunch break there is usually some type of "Lunch break exemption form" (it may have a different name at your facility) that you fill out and turn into your supervisor to ensure you will be paid for that time you were working.

Employers want you to clock out for the day as on-time as possible. If everybody clocks out that late everyday, they would have a lot of overtime to pay. When you have just a little bit of work or something that you personally must do, then it's OK to stay late. Just try to get out ASAP and not make it a habit. If possible, you can leave the work for the next shift to do.

At my facility we do not get paid anything 7 minutes minutes after the time we were supposed to clock out. So if I was supposed to leave at 11:00pm, and it's 11:15pm now, I'm not getting paid for the work I'm doing. If we MUST stay late, we have a form called a "Time card exemption sheet" to fill out and the charge nurse signs it. If we don't fill out the form, we don't get paid for the time.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · May 4, 2010

Same here. We're supposed to clock in/out within 7 minutes of our scheduled time so they don't have to round up and pay us 15 minutes. If you happen to stay late or something and you want to get paid for it you you need your card signed and you better have a good reason. Being new and slow, I don't think it'll be a problem for you at first.

Your card should accurately reflect when you were off the floor, so if you took your 30 minute break late, don't just write 11-1130. That way if something happens while you were off the floor you can't get blamed.

Poi Dog · May 4, 2010

At my place the workers have to sign out for lunch if they leave the premises to grab a bite. It is assumed that our lunches were taken and accounted for.

tavia_yeung · May 5, 2010

Thank you a lots Ev1987, CoffeemateCNA, fuzzywuzzy, and Kohala71 for the very helpful replies.

Also thanks for mentioned these names, "Lunch break exemption form" and "Time card exemption sheet" b/c it give me an idea what it called.

elizabeth321 · May 5, 2010

people are asked to sign in and out because there are some that have abused it and ruined it for the rest of us........

tavia_yeung · May 5, 2010

Thank you elizabeth321 for the reply. Now I know what it for, thanks again all for the helpful responses.