Off the clock

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Just an informal survey. What would you do if you knew one of your co workers was punching out, then coming back and doing her charting, all to avoid "getting in trouble" for too much overtime ?

I know she is doing this. I know that my boss knows she is doing this.

I work in a rehab unit night shift. 30 beds,2 nurses,12 hr shifts.

I brought this up to my unit manager-she told me "don't worry about it."

What would you do?

Specializes in Pedi.
I don't see a problem with this at all. She's not getting paid to catch up on her charting, the manager is not losing anything! Unless this is an ongoing thing , and if it is , she might need some better tips on organization and time management!

The problem is that it is illegal. If an employer has reason to believe an employee is working (and in this case it sounds like the boss is aware), they are required to compensate that employee for his/her time. And charting is working.

This is illegal. It is not okay for your coworker to work off the clock; however, the person most liable for this is the supervisor who knows and continues to allow it to happen. This smacks of a lawsuit waiting to happen. And as pointed out by others, this is just further exploitation of nursing as a profession.

Do not work off the clock! If your job makes you work off the clock quit now.

In some cases, it could be considered a HIPAA violation, as you are off the clock, you have no further "need to know". Commuter wrote a good article about this very thing:

https://allnurses.com/nursing-and-professionalism/do-not-work-776665.htmlck

Specializes in LTC (LPN-RN).

I worked at a hospital in NY where this non technical nurse did that BS all the time. She would stay about 2 to 3 hours after her shift charting....every day. She told me the hospital would never pay her that much overtime so she had to clock out and go back to charting. The NM knew this was going on. Her choice. One day I told her she should look for a clinic to work at. It would frustrate me that she would be in the nurse charting area or hours taking up space one of us needed to do our work.

Specializes in Medical Surgical Orthopedic.

There are rare days when I have to stay one or even two hours late, and I never work off the clock. On the other hand, I've worked with nurses who stay really late every day despite the fact that they have 20+ years of experience. They just can't seem to pull it together- even on a good day.

These nurses usually clock out before they're completely finished, although management doesn't ask them too. They do have a right to be paid for their time, but management has a right to replace them with people who work more efficiently, too. This nurse is more likely to get fired than showered with overtime. I would stay out of it.

Why am I upset about this?? A number of reasons.....management is "cracking down" on overtime, but there is always something else that gets added to our workload. I also feel strongly that everyone should be compensated for their time. When I am at work, I give it 100%, but I am not staying there after I have punched out to work for free. It also. Bugs me that management is aware of this, yet it continues. Will I make a big deal about it??? NO. I need to do my job and not worry about what someone else does.

Ill tell you why I did it. As a new grad starting in a skilled unit with 25 residents (mostly trachs, g-tubes and wound care) in my 2nd week I was told by ADON, "get out on time tonight." I had been staying about 1.5-2 hours past shift charting. Then they posted a notice that if you are not punching out on time, they will revoke your punching in and out, and do it themselves. Then they started suspending people. So a lot of people began working off the clock. All that time, I'm learning by my coworkers actions, so I started to clock out too and chart. Because if I left anything uncharted (I was still learning what even needed to be charted) the ADON would hunt us down the next day and say "you have charging owed to me." Then she would list the names of everyone who still "owed" charting and tape it to the nursing station desk. Once you completed your charting, you then were told to cross your name off the list. As a brand new grad, my hands were tied. It takes time to learn policies and procedures about what to chart, and it takes time to learn to navigate EMR. It takes time to learn time management. Also, our CNA's didn't take vital signs, we did. And in skilled care, the nurse had to be the one to do accuchecks. And 75% of my residents were accuchecks. Anyway, I quit that job after 2 months. I'm never working off the clock again. I'm currently looking for employment for my 2nd nursing job. I'm going to ask during my interviews what their expectations are of a new grad getting out right on time as soon as you're on the floor. I'm going to have to word it in a way that doesn't make me sound incompetent though.

When I worked the LTC unit and Alzheimer's unit 30-40 residents each perspectively, I got everything done on time and didn't have to work late. It was only when I worked the skilled floor that I had a REAL hard time getting out on time. And I'll be honest. If I did get out on time, it was because I cut corners. That's not the nurse I want to be. I want to have better orientation and learn to manage my time.

Specializes in RN.

There could be many variables to this, my thoughts are as follows:

1-Would the employer "go to bat for you" in a court case if your work in question was done "off the clock?" Or would they find this very convenient to bail their own butt out?

also: the facility/employer is physically responsible for you while you are in the building. IMHO they are stupid for allowing this top happen. Ever heard of LIABILITY?

2- Yes it is a dis-service to other nurses by doing work for FREE.

side note (not to derail thread)-If this facility has a Union this is a grievance situation. (If you are anti-union or do not have a union maybe this is a teaching moment...)

3- The NM is probably a token NM...you know, just another individual who wants the status of saying "I am in management," they rub elbows with the other management folks, eat at their table, BUT do not want anything to do with being someone who is actually involved in managing the staff...this type are a dime a dozen..." You may be able to tell that I have no use/respect for weak 'leaders.'

4- If this person habitually does this I would assume that they have some real time management issues...gets me wondering "what else may be being left undone???"

5- Or, to be the optimist, maybe this individual is just very "chatty" and provides excellent patient care to fault that she doesn't get some of the 'boring' work done on time, like charting?? However, charting is really what will save our butts if done correctly.

I wonder- is the charting pertinent? Or is it some of the irrelevant 'fluff' that besets some nurses??

Here's a thought- has anyone offered to help her prioritize? Is she open to that?

My "bottom line"...this should not be going on. Would I engage the battle?..I would need more info, but only to justify not doing something about inappropriate/possibly detrimental activities in the workplace.

Specializes in Orthopedic, LTC, STR, Med-Surg, Tele.

12 hour nights? Don't you guys have any downtime to chart? I know it gets crazy but I feel like I can comfortably get everything done on nights whereas on day shift I was constantly being interrupted.

Specializes in LPN.

I agree with noyesno, when an employer assigns too much work, too heavy a patient load, and then one employee works off the clock, their co-workers are then expected to do the same. Management will say, "They can do it in 8 hours time, - why can't you?"

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