Asked to stay late with call team w/out call team pay

Specialties Operating Room

Published

Specializes in OR.

Does this happen in other OR's? We are a small town OR (4 general surgeons, 3 orthopods, 5 gyn...get the picture?) Anyway....our hrs are 645-315 m-f. They surgeries are constantly scheduled to run over the 315 time and the call team stays...well lately its been 2 or 3 rooms running over and people are expected to stay.....at regular pay..working side by side with the 3 members of call making call team pay (time and half..shift diff..etc). The other day we had 3 rooms running over and noone said they could stay. They had signed the "cant stay" sheet on monday saying they couldnt stay certain days (something left over from previous directors). Well the new director (2 yrs into job) took the sheet away and now demands we stay certain days that are up to us...2 rn's and 1 lpn must stay every day m-f...at regular pay, and if we dont 'play nice' then she will develop a 'back up' team that will work until 5 pm each day and THEN the call team will pick up call after 5. The OR is livid....because its all about the money...they said they will schedule surgeries ANYTIME the doctor wants...

Advice...???

Hope this makes sense....

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Find a new place to work.

Mandatory overtime is bad enough. Mandatory overtime without time-and-a-half pay is almost slavery.

they said they will schedule surgeries ANYTIME the doctor wants

That will be hard to do if all of their nurses quit. I get a kick out of nurses managers who seem to think that nurses grow on trees. Helloooooooooooo, there's a nursing shortage. Duh.

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No, this doesn't happen in other OR's, or at least it shouldn't. I hope that you will all stand up and demand a second (or third) call team with call pay rather than being forced into this situation. It would set a very bad precedent. If they want to add a regular shift of employees that work until 5, fine. We have that, and it sure sounds like your OR needs it. But to demand that people who are scheduled to get off work at 3 stay over without call pay is wrong!

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Specializes in O.R., ED, M/S.

Don't you get OT for anything over 8 hrs? I don't know what it is like in Va but in Ca you do get this. What about having a later shift like 3-11 or maybe 12-8. I know this will make them hire people but you can't burn your crew out. Good luck!

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Specializes in Operating Room.

In our OR if someone is asked to stay late or come in on their day off and they are not on call, they are paid a Critical Shift Diff... which I believe is time and a half.

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Specializes in Operating Room.

I have never heard of this. If you work over your scheduled hours then you are supposed to get time and a half. The only time I've seen different was in the case of part-time people. But, if you work a 40 hour week in my hospital and state, anything over 40 is time and a half. We also have a law against mandatory overtime, but that's another topic.

You guys need to confront this..what your NM is doing is not right.:down:

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Specializes in OR.

We normally get OT over 40 hrs....but the kicker is...they "take it back"...meaning they flex off the people with overtime. In the year I have been there...never have I had a 80 hr check. I have had 76 hrs...never 80. There are some who do....not many. Its ok to flex sometimes...but every single week? January and Feb. is so slow....you have to flex some.

There is a sheet to sign who has OT (from call or reg hrs)...they get flexed first.

We have stood up and said something...several has. We were told they are NOT paying time and half. Even if she develops a 2nd call team for a backup...wont get it.

Va is an 'at will' state...you can always leave if you dont like your job. One called the employment commission ...that was what she was told.

Our assistant manager is the former manager...her hands are tied. We have an older OR crew. Who are afraid of losing job, pension, etc....too far to go to next hospital for job. So...I dont know what else to do....Administration backing her ($$$$$$).

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Look in your local yellow pages for an employment attorney. Talk to him about what's going on. You might have grounds for a class action lawsuit.

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Call HR and let them know what is going on. That'd be my first step. If you are working over 40 hours a week you should be getting time and a half. She sounds like she's on a total power trip and needs a lesson pronto on state law, wages, etc.

If that doesn't work you can call the state and an employment attorney but hopefully HR will be able to nip this in the bud.

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Specializes in 2 years school nurse, 15 in the OR!.

Well, that's just not right...We are asked to stay late if cases are running late. Actually they beg us to stay...LOL. We get OT if we go over 40 hours and if you volunteer to stay, you don't get call pay but you get a $50 bonus per day. That adds up and usually you leave about 4 or so, so it's a nice incentive.

Call HR, see what happens...

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Specializes in OR.

IF we work over 40 we get OT...but they always flex us off on slower days to prevent us from getting over 40 hrs. I have worked there over a year...and only 4 weeks have I ever worked over 40 hrs...INCLUDING call. Its like working overtime for nothing....you work over then on a slower day...you are sent home to prevent OT. They call it, "giving it back".

I asked people today if they could come together and stop agreeing to flex...and see what happens.

See what happens is they call early in the am(530ish)....and ask "do you want off"....most say yes...some say no. I wonder what would happen if EVERYONE said...no, im coming in???

Many are so worried that they would take out call pay away if we keep complaining....imagine call on regular pay. :(

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mooneyes, how far is another hospital? If a workplace treats me like crap, I say buh bye to them.

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