What would you do????

live4today, RN · Jul 3, 2002

Originally posted by beckymcrn
I am baffled at the moment . I have been a nurse for 6 years five of the six I have spent in Oncology because I love this field. I worked in the hospital until a back injury moved to to the clinic setting. I am baffled because I recently found out one my fellow nurses in the cancer center, who was hired about six months after I was, and who has three years of HOME HEALTH experience, NO ONCOLOGY EXPERIENCE, is making almost SIX DOLLARS more an hour than me.
So now what should my next step be. I am actually not supposed to know about this persons salary. Since it is time now for my yearly evaluation should I tell my boss what I know, or be quiet and except it as part of the politics of the job?
I have thought about leaving and trying to get another job. My problem is I want to work full time in oncology and there are not many oncology jobs around here. So what do you think what would you do???????

Girlfriend...you have a legal case that you could file against the employer. I was in a situation like that out in California, and it wasn't until a year later that I found out I could have filed suit against that hospital and WON the case. I will not divulge the details, but feel free to "PM" me if you want to know more. :)

Rustyhammer · Jul 3, 2002

I would bring it up and ask for at LEAST what your counterpart is making but I would also tune up my bargaining. All of us are in demand and I think we will be even MORE so in the coming few years. Speak up and demand your worth!

-Russell

prn nurse · Jul 3, 2002

Nurses working in the clinics generally earn less, because they are working 8-to- 5's, and every weekend and holidays off.

Also, has the other nurse been a nurse longer than you? Not just at your present place of employment, but her total number of years in nursing as an lpn/rn? Starting salaries are based on total #'s of years employed as a nurse, including lpn years for rn's who were previously rn's.

I worked on a female oncology unit where some nurses had been there 10-15 years. I made a higher salary than they did because I had been a nurse longer.

If I had transferred to one of the clinics , I would have taken a big salary cut, plus loss of $2000 a year differential pay.

Did the co-worker tell you in confidence? You sound like you are going to tell the nurse manager. The NM will tell your co-worker that you knew her salary. The NM will also ask HOW you know this information. In some hospitals, it is a cause for dismissal....to discuss and disclose salaries. Yes, agency nurses discuss them, but I rarely hear staff.

Before making any decisions, collect all the information that you can.

KlareRN · Jul 3, 2002

I agree with prn nurse. Be sure you have all the details...How did you find out about her pay? Did she tell you or has it gone thru several people (at an increase of 50c per person??) I have experienced situations where nurses have inflated their rate of pay for a number of reasons. Or, did your unit have a special sign on bonus or incentive that she is figuring in with her base rate? Be careful how you approach your supervisor. Most facilities are very careful with wages because they know alot of staff talk amongst themselves even though it is against policy most of the time. Facilities do not want the labor wage people coming in to dig thru files....they are not pleasant individuals.

Let us know how things work out.

KlareRN

shygirl · Jul 4, 2002

I don't know what I would do. How do you know she is making $6.00 more an hour that you? Maybe someone just wants to pi$$ you off! Did she tell you herself?" Believe 1/2 of what you see and NOTHING of what you hear".

I would probably bring it up if she told me. Let us know----Shygirl

nursegoodguy · Jul 4, 2002

I've had this come up at... let's see... like everywhere I've worked! One nurse had over twenty years experience compared to my over ten and I just figure there is a cut off point for experience so I asked my boss what the deal was... she said she would look into it and then about a week later she told me that the other nurse did not make as much as me. So I went to the other nurse and told her just what my boss said... do you know what the other nurse did... she pulled her check stub out of her pocket and showed me! I was so naive... I believed what my boss told me and it was such a shock to think she would lie to me! Even if she said they were considering the other nurses 20years experience and that was the reason I would've been okay with that but to just lie! So I know when times are tough and the facility is down a few nurses just figure that anyone hired at that time will be making more than you! That's why you gotta always ask for more than what you think they will give when you interview, get it in the beginning or don't get it at all!

hoolahan, ASN, RN · Jul 4, 2002

I agree with asking your super directly. A co-worker once told me she was making a dollar an hour more than me, and she wasn't even a nurse. She did also carry a beeper, and respond to staffing emergencies, for home health aides, and was there longer than me, so I figured, wow, they must really like her.

I now know she totally made that up. I guess she didn't want me to underestimate her worth, and she knew my salary, b/c she was at my interview. You can never be sure if salary rumors are true.

Think about this, suppose you bring this up, and your boss confirms there are people who are making more w less experience, or whatever. OK, what do you do w that info? Do you threaten to leave? If you do, where will you go? Will you get into trouble for breach of confidentiality by somehow knowing this person's salary?

Maybe the very best thing would be is to appraoch this nurse herself, and say (if you didn't already hear it from her directly), I am going to ask a personal question, you don't have to answer, but my eval is coming up, and I would like to ask for a raise. I was told you are making X per hour, and before I request a simialr salary, I would like to confirm that this is a real figure, and not a rumor. Maybe she will laugh like hexk and say what BS it is. That is a rather large salary discrepancy!!

Just think through what your actions willl be if this is confirmed, what do you do w that info? I would find out first, if it's true, I would speak to the boss, but don't say you will leave if you don't get an increase. Just quietly look for another job, no one should be disrespected like that. To make that much less, if not for a great reason like that nurse has 30 yrs experience, is an insult.

NancyRN · Jul 4, 2002

I found out another nurse, with less experience than me, is getting $16/hr more than me! She told me when we were taking some classes together. When I asked my NM about it, she admitted it, but said that nurse works a "weekend program". That means she works every weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, twelve hour nights. She gets paid about the same rate as me but at the end of a certain period of time she'll get a bonus, which will make her salary average out much higher. She can't miss any days or she'll lose that bonus. Maybe your co-worker has an arrangement along those lines.

I work PRN which means less money but I work straight days and I work only when I want. That's worth everything to me!

2ndCareerRN · Jul 4, 2002

In some hospitals, it is a cause for dismissal....to discuss and disclose salaries.

This may have been the case in the past, but is no longer enforcable. The sixth circuit court found that dismissing a person for discussing their salary is an unfair labor practice. It comes from a dismissal of a worker in a LTC facility in Ohio. The entire opinion makes for some very good reading, you can never have to much knowledge when it comes to labor parctices.

http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=6th&navby=case&no=00a0218p

I would also like to echo hoolahan's questions. If you do find out she is making more than you, what are you plans after. I think you need to be ready to leave, just cut and go. Find another position and work there. If you are going to the trouble to bring it up, be ready for any adverse fallout...but do not let them threaten you with retaliation for discussing salary (see the link).

bob

beckymeds · Jul 4, 2002

Thanks for the site 2nd. This has been a ongoing problem in our facility and of course we have the "be quiet" clause. Glad we're not the only ones with the "don't ask, don't tell policy." I feel like I'm in the military. great post Becky! Something that I have wondered about for a while. Has anyone else fought this battle and won, without legal manuvers and without getting canned?

KaraLea, LVN · Jul 4, 2002

I have had this situation before too. In the LTC facility I used to work at, the DON kept saying that raises were "frozen" and not to even ask for one. This left one co-worker without a raise in 5 years of working at this place (she had been there a total of 8yrs). But then we found out that one of the day shift nurses was getting raises the whole time (a co-worker actually saw her check stub). Finally, we got a new DON and ADON as well as a new Administrator. Soon got a big raise plus shift diferential, YEAH! Then I found out that what they had done was raise the starting salary and had just raised our pay to match the new starting salary. Imagine my joy when I found out that some nurses who had just started there and had fewer years as nurses than I did, were making the same as I was. Then they screwed up on the differential. There were three of us on nights, the one who had just started got the diff, I got my regular pay without diff, and the other nurse on nights was not even getting the right amount of regular pay (they started her at the origional starting salary and were also taking out for insurance that she hadn't signed up for). Then some of my co-workers on nights went to the DON and complained that I was not doing my treatments like I should, that I was rude, and had an attitude. The DON immediately wanted to put me on day shift to "watch" me (no verbal or written warning first). This was the first I had heard of any of this. I left that job without notice just a few days later. I had gotten to the point where I started feeling like my co-workers could end up saying something that could go against my license (they were bragging to one of my friends who used to work there that they were "going to get" me). BTW, they NEVER put any of their aligations in writing, never provided proof of their alegations, even after the DON asked them repetedly to do so. Also, these people never said anything to me personally about this, they just acted like nothing had happened. Some of my friends who used to work there too told me that I could have had a really good case for taking them to court but I just wanted out of there. I had had enough stress in my life already, my father had just been dx with Parkinsons, then my car "threw a rod through the block" and I had to get a new car, and then this garbage at work. I really didn't need any more stress in my life. I was out of work for about 3months after that. I worked around here with my parent's goats and did alot of walking. I felt soooooooo much better after that. I hadn't realized just how much stress I had been under until I just stayed home and did alot of physical work but rested my mind.

I agree though that you need to decide what you are going to do if you do confront your supervisor and this other nurse is getting more than you without more experience. What if nothing changes? Then what?