Singled Out at Work

[Nurse Beth, MSN]

Dear Nurse Beth,

I have a problem at work. A couple of years ago, I cut back on my hours to go back to school full time for a more advanced nursing credential. Shortly after that, I had a serious health issue come up and at the same time, two of my colleagues quit.

I was told I would need to work more hours to help cover their shifts – but that the unit would not be able to restore my full-time benefits due to budget constraints. (I missed 1.5 unscheduled days of work due to my health issues and took off for a number of medical appointments which were scheduled well in advance.) I didn't mind pitching in” that for a while but it's been almost two years now. I have asked every few months for full time benefits to be restored.

On these and other occasions, I have been told that my position was at risk for being cut due to budget constraints. There were recent staff-wide pay increases. I was the only one singled out to NOT get a raise. Based on my market research, my rate of pay is at least 30% below market. I have gone up two layers of management to see if something could be done the pay and benefits. My boss's boss got very angry at me when I asked (in a very professional manner) why I was the only one excluded from the raises or if perhaps a mistake had been made. Now, I am afraid I have been branded a trouble-maker.

Many of my more interesting and challenging duties have been reassigned to others. I mostly spend my time cleaning rooms (unless they really need someone to tackle a project. Then they call me in.) I was promised when I was hired that my (large) employer would pay my nursing school tuition. But I have repeatedly been turned down for tuition assistance while other students have had theirs paid. I have consistently had top box” job reviews. (My current boss has only reviewed me once. The review was done several months late and while we were short of staff.)

I have applied for a few other jobs both inside and outside the organization but have not been selected to be interviewed. I would probably tell anyone else to get out of there!” But with the health complications I have had, I am fearful of losing health insurance or not being covered by the FMLA. Plus, with my work hours, I am not even sure how I would get to an interview if I were offered one.

1) My principles and pragmatics are all tangled up here. Especially in nursing, how do you know when it's time to move on?

2) I have thought about filing some sort of EEO complaint. My friends have told me to keep my mouth shut and protect employ-ability. I don't like it, but I sense that they are right.

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Dear Being Singled Out at Work,

Wow. Za.

What you are saying constitutes unfair pay practices. It's hard to know for sure without having more of the details of your situation, and all of your points raise more questions.

So to clarify- Is your position part-time or is it full-time (not asking how many hours you work, but what is the official job status)? If it is part-time, then you are not eligible for full-time benefits. If it is full-time, they have to pay you full-time benefits.

Are you part-time and just "filling in" a lot? In some states, there are laws that govern part-time employees working full-time consistently while being denied benefits.

It is unusual to be singled out for exclusion from a staff-wide pay increase unless you are in a different job category. What reason were you given when you asked why you were excluded?

What nursing job do you have that consists mostly of cleaning rooms, and what interesting and challenging duties have been re-assigned?

Along the same lines, on what grounds was your tuition assistance denied? Something is very odd here, but based on what you are experiencing, for some reason, you are persona non grata at this organization.

I take it you do not have a nursing union.

I would either leave and consider filing a complaint, or stay and resolve to accept the lower pay, reduced benefits and lack of tuition assistance. The latter option seems that it would not be sustainable without resentment.

I'm not sure how you feel another organization could treat you more unfairly than you describe. There are laws to protect employees such as yourself with chronic health issues.

Best wishes,

Nurse Beth

Author, "Your Last Nursing Class: How to Land Your First Nursing Job"...and your next!

[JDGNurse]

Hello,

I am not sure how many hours a week you work, and this effects if you are eligible for certain benefits and FMLA. It sounds to me like there are too many things going on that are definitely not in your favor. At this point, I think I would look for another job and seek legal advice. Good Luck!

[explorereb96, ADN, BSN]

This happened to me some years ago at a well known nursing facility chain. i was told many times that they could fight me with all the lawyers they had. The EEOC understands this. The Human Relations (or Employee Relations depending on your state) understands that they are limited in what they can ptotect you against. So if you go to them, you have to think really hard and remember what their words were. Age, Color, Religion....etc. For example, I was told (in diffferent wording different poeople and different times), Thst essentially "young single mithers will have a hard time working here." But i certainly told them about other discrimantory acts that are not covered under the EEOC. Essentially the EEOC and your wage and hour board will look into your case based on the Discrimination Civil Rights. But the wage and hour board has the power ti take it a step further and cite the employer for not treating employees of the same caliber equally. You cant single out for raises unless they are called incentive bonuses. Call them. They will have you talk to an investigator. Don't leave anything out. I was told by my investigator that most of thr investigators want to help with other forms of discrimination, but without at least one form of civil liberties discriminatory act along with the others, they can't. But once they do start their investigation, it's pretty vigorous. At least 4 agencies showed up at the facility and asked them for records and a room for them to inspect. They also asked stsff be interviewed without management present. I won.....I am not the only one either. Because of my actions others (even people that did not work there anymore) were paid. What this company learned is thst they do not want a federal agency's focus on them.