No breaks (class action lawsuit)

[Been there,done that]

I am sure many of us reading this thread know what No breaks mean!

I am talking about 13 hours on my feet.. barely time to empty the old bladder.

Question is..

Have you heard of a Class Action lawsuit addressing this issue?

[JBudd, MSN]

I used to be all gung-ho, and could never leave my patients because gosh! what might happen?

Now I stop and go to the bathroom when I need to, and you know what? NO ONE has died because I pee regularly during my shift.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

As far as class action lawsuits go, check out: Hospital Overtime Class Action Lawsuits & Investigations | Home

This law firm has secured successful settlements from a number of hospitals in my city and is going after many more.

Here is a decent article about what this particular law firm has done:

http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20101122/MAGAZINE/101119945

This particular firm has gotten close to $30 million in settlements from 2 hospitals in my city, there are lawsuits pending against others and I imagine it's only a matter of time before they go after the rest of them. Call me evil, but I kind of look forward to a day when I get a post-card from them asking me to join a class-action lawsuit. I would join it in a heart beat. My employer does not ensure that we get breaks (despite it being a law that employees working > 6 hours in a day have a 30 minute break) nor do they pay us for breaks that we work through or for time that we stay late charting or transporting a patient to an emergent test/the OR/transferring to the ICU, etc. Violations of labor laws abound.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I got told off not long ago for NOT having a break. By law, we must have a break of 30 minutes per every 6 hours worked.

And I often wonder, how on EARTH can anyone work 12 or 13 hours without having a toilet break? I don't care if the whole ward is screaming at me for things, I take my toilet break when I need it! I for one don't want to end up with a kidney infection.

I went many days not taking a bathroom break on a 12 hour shift (though with no time to drink anything, some days this wasn't a huge feat). I agree, it's terrible for bladder/kidney health.

I have been a nurse for 15 years and only when I left hospital nursing did I get a lunch break (usually it was a 10 minute cram something into your mouth in the break room steps away from the unit type of thing). Where I work now, they INSIST that you take your full 30 minute lunch. It's such a relief.

[wooh, BSN, RN]

I will be honest sometimes I don't take break not because my hospital is depriving me of a break but just because I'm behind, and would like to catch up.

If the workload is so big that you have to skip breaks to catch up, the hospital IS depriving you of a break.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I once complained to the nursing supervisor that I was about to pass out from lack of eating. I was also 5 months pg at the time.

When she brought up yet another admit for me, she gave me a can of boost to go with it. That's how much she really cared if I ate or not.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I get a lunch breaks now but sometimes 8 hrs into a shift and never any breaks. I think I'm going to start taking them. Sometimes it is just so difficult to do so when you know taking that break will put you further behind. We all know that OT isn't allowed, so what to do?

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I take my lunch almost ever shift I work now. I also make sure the rest of the staff take theirs. If I don't take a lunch, I fill out a slip and had it directly to my AR before clocking out. I've found the more I give, the more management will take. I have to take care of myself as a mother so why would I deny myself at work? I still remember my nursing instructor telling us the importance of recharging even if it's only for 10 minutes. She was right, but I'm taking 30 mins as often as I can!

[Kyrshamarks, BSN, RN]

Putting on the flame suit, but if you are nit getting your breaks it IS YOUR FAULT. I have been nursing 25 years un icu, er, the floors and I can count the nuber of time I did not take a break. This self sacraficing idea is crazy. It is your responsibility to take gour break, not your employers.

[Vespertinas]

Agreed. I used to think that I could complete more work when I didn't take a break and that since I was young, the lack of break was no detriment to me. I also thought that taking a break was simply impossible.

If you just MAKE yourself take a break you will see that you are more efficient overall and that it IS possible and the world will not fall apart.

It's hard to create a culture where you can start regularly taking breaks though because it's a nursing thing, not a management thing.. though they should help to facilitate this. Nurses need to agree with each other when they take breaks and who is covering. I've seen charge nurses go around and make sure that everyone has a buddy or a schedule. Otherwise you're just sneaking away to grab a bite and hoping to god no one calls.

[reneajustine]

Theodora Cossack et al. Vs. Cross Country TravCorps, Inc., 08/23/2006, Orange County, CA; ruled in favor of the nurses (the Petitioner) proving that the Defendant failed to pay nurses hourly overtime and failed to calculate correctly their employee's (nurses) pay as required by California Law.

[Agatha12]

I used to work for 2 years on very busy surgical floor. My first months I did not get breaks at all as I was struggling to cope with workload. Even when I was forcefully sent to have a lunch break, I could not stop thinking about whats happening with my patients. Also very often I was distracted by others asking me questions and on occasion even called from break by CNA to attend the patient because no other nurse was willing to deal with the issue. After about a year I started taking full breaks as I began to care less about my job. I was not happy with this though. I moved to PACU where we have time to take full breaks and even extra unauthorised breaks without compromising patients care.

[canoehead, BSN, RN]

I've found the more I give, the more management will take.

Preach.