Will RN's, LPN's be affected by the new OT rules?

Nurses Activism

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Hi everyone,

It looks like the definitions for who get's overtime are changing -- opposition to the OT rules crumbled tonight against administration threats to veto the gov't funding bill and pass the blame.

So . . .

Anyone who is termed "professional" or makes over $65k per year will no longer be eligible. I'm trying to find better information, and I found this small snippet here:

http://www.house.gov/genetaylor/proposed_changes_to_overtime_rul.htm

Anybody have any idea how nurses will be affected by these new rules?

Thanks,

Originally posted by Mr_D

I'm reading that Nurses can be charged with "Patient Abandonment" for refusing to come in. Which of course opens the doors to stripping your RN licensure....

How can refusing to come in be abandonment? You haven't accepted the shift. Would this also apply when we call out sick? Just doesn't make any sense.

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about the proposed changes and how these changes will effect RNs. First RNs are already exempt employees and employers do not have to pay OT if an RN are on salary. If they are paid hourly employees then OT is paid. The proposed changes don't effect this. Will it make it easier to change RN from hourly to salary? The market will answer this.w you are to

Patient abandonement is defined by each state board of Nursing so check your individual state.

Union contracts supercede these changes so if you have a contract that specifies how you are to be paid OT these rules don't apply.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

It will not matter if the RN is salaried or Hourly in the case of the new laws.

Salaried is generally not paid OT anyway so no big change there. RN's in general however are not generally "exempt" employees.

What it DOES do is define a nurse as an "educated" professional - therefore disqualifying the nurse from receiving OT pay if the employer chooses not to pay it.

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Specializes in Critical Care,Recovery, ED.

Legally nurses have always been exempt from OT laws. That doesn't mean that an employer can't choose to pay RNs hourly and pay OT it just that the employer isn't required by law to pay RN hourly with OT. Just because the employment market has historically paid most RN hourly doesn't mean there is a legal requirement to do so.

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

Not all of them have been exempt. Most of them in hospitals are not in fact exempt.

The exmption applies only if they are salaried, contracted in some way that exempts them, or if they supervise other personnel directly. (Supervising is not defined as simply delegating tasks, but the power to hire and fire the person to whom the tasks are delegated) So most RNs working in hospitals are NOT exempt.

I have worked in positions where I have been exempt, and positions where I have not been - it depends on the situation, the working environment and the job description.

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Does anyone have a link stating that this law HAS passed? Or is it just up for vote? This is really scary cuz it leaves LOTS of gray areas to attend to as far as nurses are concerned. If nothing, i hope this pushes all states into forming nurses unions. we NEED them. i had no problem with Bush up until now. ARG...:devil:

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

It has passed - it was on yahoo news last Thursday evening. The Congress, Senate and Pres. are all finished with it

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Specializes in ICU, ER, HH, NICU, now FNP.

Dear Working Families e-Activist:

A lot happened this weekend in the fight to stop President Bush's overtime pay take-away. After weeks of strong-arming, President Bush succeeded in keeping the ban on his overtime pay cuts out of end-of-year legislation, even though bipartisan majorities in the U.S. Senate and House had voted with workers--and against President Bush. These are the same strong-arm tactics the Bush administration used on Medicare and other issues. Once Bush's Department of Labor announces a start date (which could be in December) the new overtime rules will sadly go into effect and strip overtime pay from millions of ordinary working Americans.

URGENT ACTION is required, and in response the AFL-CIO is calling for an OVERTIME PAY NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION starting Dec. 1 when we'll ask you to help spread the word about Bush's overtime pay take-away. Talking to your friends, family and co-workers about President Bush's attack on overtime protections, the 40-hour workweek and the weekend is the most important thing you can do. Our best hope for beating Bush's overtime pay take-away is to involve millions of Americans in this growing movement.

And, since you may have already written a letter to your senators and representative, please send a note to your friends, family and co-workers by clicking on the link below. Ask them to join the fight. http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/otlastchance/

If you'd prefer to send your own e-mail message, you can copy and paste the text below into your e-mail and send it to everybody in your e-mail address book.

\\\\\\ copy and paste below //////

Dear Friend:

President Bush is pushing a massive overtime pay take-away that would strip overtime protections from millions of working Americans. More than 8 million people will lose their overtime pay possibly as soon as December. The AFL-CIO has a page where you can send a fax for free to your senators and representative on overtime pay. You don't have to be a union member. Please click on the link below to help protect overtime pay. http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/otlastchance/

After you take action, please spread the word.

Thanks.

////// copy and paste above \\\\\\

Look for an e-mail on Dec. 1 to announce the first part of the week of action. Before then, you can get ready by building and collecting an e-mail list you'll forward notes to during the week of action. For the first time ever, we'll also be asking you to print out some materials from a website and distribute them in your workplace or your community.

Here is some of what the Bush overtime pay take-away would do as part of the biggest rollback of overtime protections in U.S.

history:

+ Millions of salaried workers making between $22,100 and

$65,000 could be reclassified as "executives" or "administrative" employees-and would no longer qualify for overtime pay.

+ Relatively low-salary earners who have supervisory

responsibilities could be penalized. Workers who make $23,000 a year could be classified as executives.

+ Workers with training or education could be hurt. This

includes medical training and IT training. Some of the jobs that might lose overtime pay could be nurses technicians and medical therapists but also hundreds of others.

+ Many employers would assign overtime work to newly exempt

employees and eliminate overtime work opportunities for other overtime-eligible workers. Everybody loses.

+ Anyone making $65,000 or more a year doing office or

non-manual work would lose the right to overtime pay.

We need to stop these awful Bush overtime pay cuts so please remember to check your e-mail on Dec. 1.

Thanks for all you do.

In Solidarity,

Working Families e-Activist Network, AFL-CIO

Nov. 24, 2003

MORE: News story on the AFL-CIO website http://www.unionvoice.org/

MORE: Flash Cartoon on Overtime Pay by Mark Fiore http://www.unionvoice.org/

--------------------------------------------------

If you would like to unsubscribe from the e-Activist Network, visit your subscription management page at:

http://www.unionvoice.org/

***********************************************

Click on the link below for more information

from your union, online activism and benefits. http://www.unionvoice.org/wfn/join.html

***********************************************

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Come to (sunny) California. It doesn't matter what Georgie and his (rich) buddies do. We have a wage and hour law that requires OT after 8-hrs and double time starting with your 13 th hour. It's not likely to change either since it is a law and would need the legislature and the governor to agree.

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Just moved from Sunny (Smoggy) CA because it is much to expensive to live there, with $4800/yr property taxes and yearly car registration fees of $600 per vehicle. Utilities have been cut down from $400 a month to $125/month, since my move out of state. Now I have much more take home pay with propery taxes of $542 on a 20 acre ranch and car registration of $58, and not to mention a better paying job. I am making $13.50 per hour compared to $9.25 per hour, in Ca, as a CNA. Well enough of that. I am new to this forum, and am glad to see that nurses and CNA's are standing up for themselves and demanding better pay, for their hard work. Before switching to the nursing profession, I was a network administrator and making only 1/3 of what my male counterparts were making. I decided to go into nursing because atleast you have unions, and make better wages. Still,

there is room for improvement, and $50.00/hour is the least you should be asking for your services. Nursing is one of the most important jobs in the world. Thanks for letting me spout off.

Ladihawke

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Ladihawke, that's a very sweet post. But remember, this isn't a NURSING legislature, this is for ALL american workers. EVERYBODY. it sucks!!!!

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If the American Hospital Association has anything to pay, I mean say, about it, it will affect RN's!

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