Is this a legal part of the job?

Nurses Activism

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Alright, I am not sure if this is in the right area, I'm really not sure where I should have started this thread. Admins, please feel free to move it wherever you feel it belongs!

So, Winter is here, like it or not. Last night at work, I was informed, through the grapevine of course because I work NOC's and it is a pretty damn rare sight to see administration, that it is the night staff's duty (RN's, LPN's, CNA's, we're at a LTC/Rehab facility) to clear away snow that falls/blows in the night. Um, seriously?! What is the role of maintanence? Apparently their day ends at 5pm along with all other administrators?

I don't do snow, not at home and certainly not at work in my Dansko's and thin scrub pants! (I don't own snow gear and you can bet your sweet bippy I have no intention of investing in any!) Is this a demand they can make of nursing staff? I'm truly interested in knowing the law in regards to fair labor. Any insight or links anyone?

Specializes in Transitional Nursing.

I mean, I am usually all about team work and all. This is pretty insane though. Where are you even supposed to find time to do it? I can maybe see them calling and asking nicely to shovel a walkway or something if y'all were just hit with a big storm and maintenance was having a hard time getting there but not as a routine thing. Not a nursing task. Not even a housekeeping task!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
Hey, why not make the able bodied residents do it too? It would be great for their ROM. ONLY JOKING PEOPLE!

That would be great. All that fresh air and exercise and they would sleep great at night

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Specializes in Hospice.

This reminds me about an incident at my work, it too was through the "grapevine". There was a note on the employee refrigerator for night shift to clean it out. Well as it turned out most if not all of the food was days shifts. Nothing was dated or had employee names on it, so I cleaned out the refrigerator and threw EVERYTHING away. I didn't save the Tupperware or the Pyrex or the Pampered Chef. It all went to the trash. :devil:

Moral of the story? Don't ask night shift to clean up your crap.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I really don't get the problem, if a Hospital wants to pay me a Nurse's wage to shovel snow I'll happily do that for the whole shift.

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Specializes in ER.

We'll, if it IS real and your contract has that infamous little "...and all other duties as assigned." Clause written in there it is completely within their right! And there's nothing the least bit wrong with it. That simple little phrase!

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Without proper training, I can see LOTS of worker's comp claims. :sneaky:

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Specializes in ED, ICU, PSYCH, PP, CEN.

I would not go outside the building for any length of time. If something happened to one of the patients I fear you might be charged with pt abandonment. Sounds like someone is trying to con you into doing their job for them. I would never do this unless I had it in writing from management that this is a duty you are to perform.

As a RN your first and only duty is to take care of your patients.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
And who cares for the pts while you are outside shovelling?

Sounds ridiculous!

If I recall correctly there WAS a similar post last winter re nursing being responsible for shoveling snow.

I ask 'how is shoveling snow considered a pt care activitiy?' Since I don't see the connection, I can then make the conclusion that it is non-pt care. So then the nursing hours for that shift's cumulative staffing numbers should be DOWNWARD adjusted to reflect true pt care hours that are subject to review by the State. You know those pesky staff-to-pt ratio hours that surveyors like to look at.

If they're not adjusting the numbers, then they are providing false numbers to the State - big NO-NO.

I heard of a place where one facility required its 11-7 CNAs to remove some 100 residents' wheelchairs, gerichairs, recliners, shower chairs & benches, and stretchers, lap buddies, etc to the backyard. They were then to hose down, soap & scrub down, rinse the equip, and then return them to pts' room.

Well, someone contacted the State re the 'car wash' activities and State intervened. The activity then stopped.

Hey, I bought a condo so I wouldn't have to do sidewalks and lawns.

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Specializes in LTC, HH, and Case Mangement.

I was an MA before getting my LPN and I worked for a family doctor. When it snowed he expected me to go and shovel the area by the front door and throw salt down in the parking lot. Ummm hello? Hire a snow removal company! Why should I have to risk falling down and getting hurt because you're too damn cheap to get someone else to do it. This is also a doc who owned 2 Vipers, a Prowler, and a huge truck. So you know he has the money, just doesn't wanna spend it on this. I am so glad I no longer work there! Not for that reason (that's a whole other story, lol)

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Specializes in Clinical Research, Outpt Women's Health.
I was an MA before getting my LPN and I worked for a family doctor. When it snowed he expected me to go and shovel the area by the front door and throw salt down in the parking lot. Ummm hello? Hire a snow removal company! Why should I have to risk falling down and getting hurt because you're too damn cheap to get someone else to do it. This is also a doc who owned 2 Vipers, a Prowler, and a huge truck. So you know he has the money, just doesn't wanna spend it on this. I am so glad I no longer work there! Not for that reason (that's a whole other story, lol)

I would not consider that completely unreasonable in that situation actually. The OP situation though I do consider ridiculous.

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At my previous job, the night shift staff was expected to clear a path from the parking lot to the employee entrance. Their logic was that when the day shift arrived, they would pack the snow down if it wasn't removed It was probably about a ten foot strip...one shovel width from the door to the parking lot..no big deal. Until...the day shift started throwing a fit because they felt like we were telling them where they had to walk, so they would walk on either side of the path to get to the door When we were told to clear the entire entryway, we asked for coveralls, boots, gloves, and hats. They hired a snow removal company to do it.

At my current job, I was recently told to go outside and start my charge nurse's car. I was not going out to start mine and she parks in a different lot than I do. I told her that I was not going to start her car. She informed me that she has RA and that going out to a cold car was very painful. She then called me a name that I cannot say due to TOS and threw her keys at me. She goes out to smoke at least once every hour, yet it is too cold to go out and start her car? Weird. Management laughed when I talked to them about it and said she must have been having a bad night.

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Ooops! Double post!

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