Religious accommodation means no Saturdays....ever?

[momto6msn]

Hey all - I'm looking for input on the following situation:

a co-worker has been granted a religious accommodation to never work a Saturday (hospital ICU, where everyone is scheduled every other weekend). She does not have to work every Sunday, and they have not filled the hole her not working as created. As you can imagine, our Saturdays are horrible. I have gone to our union - NYSNA - but they are not willing to do anything.

She is also scheduled 8 hours less every two weeks than the rest of us, yet still maintains full-time benefits even though she is actually working what is considered part-time.

I'm becoming extremely resentful......am I valid feeling this way, or should I just mind my own business?

[cleback]

I would be upset too, initially. But I guess, when it comes down to it, she was just better at negotia ting her terms of employment. Sounds like management doesn't care about staffing. I would move my resentment from the nurse to management.

[audreysmagic, RN]

I don't have any specific advice, but I know my mom (also a nurse) told me once about dealing with this issue when she was working at an Adventist hospital. She had one nurse who insisted she could work no Saturdays, because it was Sabbath. Administration basically told my mom (the unit manager) she had to deal with the request, while many other nurses - also Adventist, as was my mom - came in to work without a problem. It did leave them in staffing crunches...and MOST Adventist congregations do use the fact that Jesus healed on the Sabbath to justify/allow those working in "helping" professions like healthcare or emergency services to work without guilt. (There are a few even more conservative than the typically conservative Adventist sects who don't, however - no info if this nurse was one of them; I was literally a toddler at the time. ) It COULD be a case of the nurse genuinely feeling she should not work on her Sabbath and religiously convicted to it - or she may just really want to go to church and can use that to justify consistently getting those days. (I mean, we have the same issue with some Protestant/Catholic nurses for Sunday shifts occasionally.) It is possible that this nurse is just being a stick in the mud, but as other posters have noted, it's not HER fault...it's a systemic problem. If you know you have an employee that for whatever reason cannot work a certain day and that you are consistently short on that day, you do what you have to in order to hire people for that time. And I understand the bitterness, especially when you're stuck with the brunt of the work...I've been there. But the issue doesn't really lie with this one nurse alone...management bears a good deal of the responsibility because clearly they have no back-up plan for these situations.

[Ruas61, BSN, RN]

I am still stymied by the fact that you know this much of her business- like why the reason she has an accommodation and the status of her employment. You went to the union and they didn't want to get involved or maybe they said not your business.

You are entitled to feel how ever you want...

[audreysmagic, RN]

If they needed to make that deal to recruit that nurse then they need to find a way to sweeten the pot for everyone else. They also need to fill her vacant spot on Saturdays. Of course it's going to breed resentment if others have to routinely pick up the slack - especially when patient care is clearly being compromised.

.

^^^ This. Management agreed to the arrangement, but they need to be fair to their other employees as well. And I can understand the union wanting to leave the religious accommodation issue alone, but they should be advocating for the other employees to get fair treatment. Also, I do absolutely agree that if you're working one less day a week, you should be required to do a different shift OR take the part-time hours. I, for example, requested Wednesdays off for my school schedule in this new schedule. However, I did have to pick up Mondays, which I'd previously had off, in exchange (since going part-time isn't really an option right now).

[TriciaJ, RN]

I would be upset too, initially. But I guess, when it comes down to it, she was just better at negotia ting her terms of employment. Sounds like management doesn't care about staffing. I would move my resentment from the nurse to management.

Of course there is no point begrudging anyone the deal they've been able to make. You are right. It is up to management to address the problem they've created.

I think the rest of the staff should all find a religion and request their sacred day off.

[ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP]

On the one hand, I believe that OP should stay out of it. However...

I think it is absolute BS. Why would someone choose to work in acute care knowing that the job is 24/7...Saturdays included? I think management is SO wrong to accomodate this employee and knowing that OP is getting slammed with four (!) vents, I would be fuming. And not only that, but this person isn't required to work every Sunday AND receives full-time benefits for part-time work? Oh heck no.

OP's union and HR must be controlled by idiots because this is a law suit waiting to happen on multiple levels. Severely unsafe staffing, blatant favoritism...ridiculous.

Start looking for another job ASAP.This unit (and facility) is the pits.

[SmilingBluEyes]

If I could, I would get out. It sounds very unfair and unless similar fairness is shown to all staff (which it won't) you will be forever miserable.

[~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN]

On the one hand, I believe that OP should stay out of it. However...

I think it is absolute BS. Why would someone choose to work in acute care knowing that the job is 24/7...Saturdays included? I think management is SO wrong to accomodate this employee and knowing that OP is getting slammed with four (!) vents, I would be fuming. And not only that, but this person isn't required to work every Sunday AND receives full-time benefits for part-time work? Oh heck no.

OP's union and HR must be controlled by idiots because this is a law suit waiting to happen on multiple levels. Severely unsafe staffing, blatant favoritism...ridiculous.

Start looking for another job ASAP.This unit (and facility) is the pits.

Full time in acute care is generally 3/12 hr shifts a week. That is 3 out of 7 days. It's not unreasonable to think that there might be one specific day off a week you can have off. The unit is open 24/7, we as nurses aren't. Honestly, I would be willing to bet there is more behind the scenes stuff here. How does the OP know so much about the ins and outs of this other nurse and what would have been discussed privately between HR and Management?? It is clear that upon hire this nurse informed the employer that for her religious beliefs she can not work on Sat. (that still leaves 6 other days) the management was willing to agree to still hire this nurse and under what conditions and stipulations we don't know and I don't think the OP knows either. I think there are maybe a lot of rumors or assumptions.

Not to mention that this nurse having this one known day off each week shouldn't be sending the unit into turmoil. It is not the nurses fault that the poster is getting stuck with allegedly 4 vented patients. It's not the nurses fault the unit is not staffed properly. In fact this is a controlled situation. So there is no reason it should be causing all this. Unlike someone calling out. I have worked in many acute care settings where nurses had one day a week or sometimes 2 that they couldn't work. We mostly self scheduled anyway. But the responsibility fell on the management to ensure proper coverage of the unit and fall back plans to cover call outs, injuries, sickness, etc.

I honestly do not see how anyone can justify any kind of anger or hostility towards the Nurse. The nurse did not do anything wrong. The nurse did not compromise anyone. The nurse didn't give unfair work to anyone. The nurse has strong religious beliefs that they were upfront about and disclosed and the unit still hired them anyway willing to accommodate. Where did the nurse do anything wrong?

[martymoose, BSN, RN]

If this unit doesn't have any kind of back up plan, what happens if a person calls out? Like the unit has absolutely no plan B for any circumstance?

They're like my place . you run SHORT. Too bad , so sad. don't like it, don't let the door hit you .

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

What religion bans working on weekends? maybe lots of nurses would be interested in joining???

Orthodox Judaism, 7th Day Adventists I think, maybe others.

I have seen where every Saturday off was granted, but the tradeoff was working every Sunday.\

I would be resentful, too.

[RNfaster]

This post made me think of the show, "Orange is the New Black." In one of the seasons, and in the wake of cost cuts, the prison food has gone from bad to worse. The inmates notice that Jewish inmates get better food in the form of Kosher meals. The character "Cindy," wants the better food, but is refused it as she is not Jewish. She then devises a plan to convert to Judaism...

The situation described above in the show is reported to have inspired some real prison inmates to convert to Judaism (the article also notes inmates have converted to Islam for halal food)... See link below...

Inmates becoming Jewish to get better prison food in Orange is the New Black inspired craze - Mirror Online

A source from the link above commented: I can't wait to see their faces when it's bacon butties on the menu and they're told they're not allowed any. ”

At my place of work, folks have to adjust the needs of their religion to the workplace. --For example, if they wish to go pray, they just need to take a break at an appropriate time (when safe for patients per workload of unit). If they don't want to work a required weekend day, they must switch with someone. I have seen where someone wanted to work all weekends and they swapped with someone who didn't want to work them.

I understand your frustration at the seeming inequity. But it's not really the fault of the individual. It's a situation created by workplace policy and management. It doesn't do you any good to be frustrated by it.

--But, if it still bothers you, maybe you could get creative in your approach...

[Rocknurse, MSN, APRN, NP]

Not Jewish here but have read somewhere that Jewish faith considers working "in the service of others" to be the highest form of worship.

Still like others here have said. If it bugs you that much then look for another job or join a religion that forbids work on the Sabbath and use her exemption as an example. Nothing is gained by harboring resentment. The only person that hurts is you!

Hppy

I'm Jewish. It's all down to how religious you are. The more orthodox Jews will take things to extreme, and right from sundown on Friday night won't even go as far as turning on a light switch as creating electricity can be considered as work. No TV, no lights, nothing. I grew up in that environment, not my family specifically, but others where I lived and those who I went to school with (I went to Jewish schools). It was quite common where I'm from for orthodox Jews not to work on Saturdays. In my country it is required to make accommodations for religious people to follow their faith, for example allowing muslim workers the time and space to pray 6 times a day. I'm not religious at all (in fact I'm an atheist) but as long as it doesn't harm anyone I don't have issue with accommodations being made. That said, if your company are making those allowances it's up to them to provide coverage for everyone else for those times. You shouldn't resent or blame your coworker, you should blame the company.

I do think it can get out of hand and be kind of ridiculous though. I remember a few years ago when I lived in a very orthodox Jewish part of London. The locals petitioned the town to place a string or cord high up on lampposts all around the area to denote that it was a contained religious area that they could call "inside" as they had more freedom to do things on the Sabbath if they were "inside", so they though they if they called outside inside they could do more stuff. That's like rewriting things to suit yourself and I remember thinking how ridiculous that was. I think religion is kind of ridiculous all the way around but people gotta do what they gotta do.