[MaxNurse]

I have a friend that is working in a nursing home and recently it was announced that the employees would have to start taking an extra 15 minutes for lunch or an extra 15 minute break which will be deducted from their time. So instead of getting paid for 8 hours as before, they will now be getting paid for 7.45 hours. This is due to the fact that they are over budget.
Can they do that? Seems to be unfair to me. When people are hired they agree to certain terms such as pay and hours. It seems as if it would be a breech of contract to enforce such a rule without consent of the employees.
Any ideas or comments??

[onmy3rd]

ARE YOU UNION?

[MaxNurse]

Originally posted by onmy3rd:
ARE YOU UNION?

No they aren't union.

[NATI]

Technically the adminstrators can do as they please because they are in business for the profir margin with the govenrment reimbursements rate lowered its harder to keep up the hours in the nursing homes especially. As i saw they are not union therefore its fighting a losing battle.
Good luck.

[RNsRock]

I work in a skilled nursing unit at the hospital and we too have a big problem with budget. At one point, our manager refused to pay us if we worked past our shift!! In Texas we have the Texas Employment Commission to lodge complaints regarding work practices. If you have one in your state I suggest you write them. Who knows, it may be illegal and then they will have to pay you.

------------------
RN Annie

[Nancy1]

I work in LTC and at one of the other facilities, based on census, the administration changed the start times of the CNAs in order to keep within the budget, and not have to send someone home or take a low census day and not get paid for it. This was only for the CNAs, as the nurses needed the half hour overlap to get report and count meds.
Where I am currently, the census determines how many staff there are on each unit. We do not cut back on the nurses, but will cut back on CNAs. We ask who is willing to take a day off. One other step we take from time to time, again based on census, is to have a short shift person. This individual would work from say 0700-1100 or 1600-2000. This gives a shift an extra set of hands in a time frame we feel we need the extra help.
This is working for us, as did the cutting back a half hour for the CNAs at my previous employer.
I think if you talk to the Labor Relations Board in your area they might be able to help.
Hope this helps. Maybe your administration would consider some of these options. NA

[oramar]

Originally posted by MaxNurse:
I have a friend that is working in a nursing home and recently it was announced that the employees would have to start taking an extra 15 minutes for lunch or an extra 15 minute break which will be deducted from their time. So instead of getting paid for 8 hours as before, they will now be getting paid for 7.45 hours. This is due to the fact that they are over budget.
Can they do that? Seems to be unfair to me. When people are hired they agree to certain terms such as pay and hours. It seems as if it would be a breech of contract to enforce such a rule without consent of the employees.
Any ideas or comments??

Many LTC facilities have responded to reduced funding by cutting pay and benefits. Unfortunately, we are in a full employment environment and this backfires. My sister-in-law who is a CNA had experienced cuts in personal days, Holidays and had to start picking up part of her health insurance premium. Her pay had been frozen for two years. She now works for the post office. Now we are getting post from DONs wailing "were are all the CNAs" This is not their fault, it is the goverments fault for cutting funding at a really bad time but is exactly what you get when you have a shrinking industry in a boom economy. There is going to have to be a massive march on Washington DC or something along that order. What is the use of goverment constantly passing new nursing home regulation to protect patients if their is no one to carry them out. This orginal post is three months old but mark my words we are going to hear alot about this in the future, the problem has just begun to show up.

[JillR]

We are a union shop and they have done this to us. We are to leave 15 minutes early and take a 45 minute lunch (thats a joke) so we only are suposed to get 7 1/2 hours a day. I'm not sure how they got away with it but they did. This is a joke as most of us end up staying late, and I make sure I have my supervisors sign my time cards when I do stay late or don't get my lunch as this ensures that I get pain for it. But on the other hand they are often begging us to stay for 12 hours when they fail to cover these shifts with adequate staff. They are required to pay us time 1/2 for anything over 8 hrs a day. Makes alot of sense, hey. Go figure. But on behalf of the person who does the scedules I must say that we have had an unusual amount of people off work for one thing or another, alot of injuries and surgeries this summer.

[oramar]

Originally posted by JillR:
We are a union shop and they have done this to us. We are to leave 15 minutes early and take a 45 minute lunch (thats a joke) so we only are suposed to get 7 1/2 hours a day. I'm not sure how they got away with it but they did. This is a joke as most of us end up staying late, and I make sure I have my supervisors sign my time cards when I do stay late or don't get my lunch as this ensures that I get pain for it. But on the other hand they are often begging us to stay for 12 hours when they fail to cover these shifts with adequate staff. They are required to pay us time 1/2 for anything over 8 hrs a day. Makes alot of sense, hey. Go figure. But on behalf of the person who does the scedules I must say that we have had an unusual amount of people off work for one thing or another, alot of injuries and surgeries this summer.

Have the secretaries and CNA started to leave for other jobs yet, that is the sign that the cuts in pay and benefits and increases in work load have hit the critical mass.

[nightstar41]

Definitely get all the staff together and meet with a representive from labour board in your area. Over budget is not the staff problem but an administration one...you work and you get paid what you worked. It is up to administration to figure out how to get an increase in funding...and there are more creative ways to cut cost down without holding the staff to work for less pay... Good luck!