Assisted living home from hell

[allenmel]

Okay so I am a 19 year old caregiver at an assisted living home. I am a certified med passer as of a week ago and I work noc shifts (10pm-6am). I started over a month ago and I love the facility and the residents and I truly love this field and doing my job, but my management is very very hard to deal with. I am often mandated to work on my days off because we are short staffed. Currently there are only two people who work noc shift so there is no one to switch with. I had a trip planned and told them a month in advance but the day before my plane left, they mandated me to work and I couldn't go or they said I'd lose my job. They had given me off 2 weeks prior to this but then put me back on the schedule because there was no one to cover my shift (the manager won't do it because she's lazy I think and says it's "not her job"). I love the facility but it's very hard because I feel like I can't plan things for my days off because I'll be called in. Also, there are a lot of things here that just don't seem right or legal. So my question is, is it legal to mandate someone to work every single day? And also another BIG ISSUE, my employer refuses to pay us extra for overtime. I make $13 an hour and if it's ovetime legally shouldn't I be getting time and a half?? She says we won't get paid that for overtime and she doesn't want to give us any overtime but then she mandates us to work every single day so obviously I'm getting overtime. Yet I'm not getting paid extra for it. Also please keep in mind how hard it is to adjust to noc schedules. When I have days off, I often times don't sleep in because I know I will be sleeping at night that night. Then my employer calls and says I'm mandated so I have to go in on very little sleep. It's frustrating and I'd just like some advice. Can I report this to someone? Help!

[allenmel]

Also another issue is that I recently came down with the flu and was puking. I couldn't keep even water down. I called my employer and said I wouldn't be able to come in and she said if I didn't find anyone to cover my shift I had to come in. Even though I had been puking and was contagious, she wanted me to come in and still care for the residents. It blows my mind. She said they don't accept doctors notes and if I don't come I'll be fired. I finally found someone to cover my shift but I just don't understand. If I'm sick I'm sick. No way do I want to come in and be the cause of someone dying because they caught what I had and weren't able to fight it. I just don't understand. I love my residents and I don't want to leave. Please help me fix this. I ne I d a new manager and I don't know how to get rid of this one or fix the issues in my facility.

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

Mandation regulations are usually only very restricted and leagaly binding for Nurses (RN/LPN) not knowing what state your in it's hard to give a more specific answer then that. However it's beyond crappy to require someone to work for what is a known and planned for staffing issue, and in most states where there are laws around mandation there are restrictions that it shouldn't be used to fill non emergency staffing needs

Now on to the topic I can help you with.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE PAID OVERTIME!!! You are not en exempt employee by any stretch of the imagination. Next time your in make a copy of as many schedules as you can that show what you're expected to work. Match these to your time slips. Call the state board of labor and file a complaint. There are usually forms to fill out online. Don't warn anyone don't say anything get as much evidence as possible, as for pay stubs as far back as you can get them tell them you're having a tax problem. If you give an indication you're gonna go to the labor board just watch how quick that information is lost!

I don't know what state your in but here in PA the would investigate, and if they determine you were miss paid they give you 150% of the error and fine the employer. I had an employer dragging their feet on overtime pay and the simple mention of a board complaint suddenly made the check appear two days later. They weren't trying to defraud me, like your employer is, they were just not within the law on the timing of payment. You have a strong case, and with evidence it will only be stronger.

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

Ok looked at your profile. Wisconsin. Here we go

Madison Office

201 E Washington Ave; Room A100

Madison, WI 53703

Phone: [phone] (TTY)Milwaukee Office

819 N. 6th St; Room 723

Milwaukee, WI 53203

Phone: [phone] (TTY)

Wisconsin Labor Standards Laws

Overtime Law

Workers, regardless of age, must be paid 1-1/2 times the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, if employed by factories, mercantile establishments, restaurants, hotels, motels and resorts, beauty parlors, retail and wholesale stores, laundries, express and transportation firms telegraph offices and telephone exchanges.

Exempted from overtime pay requirements are certain administrative, executive, and professional employees,; certain outside sales and commissioned employees; taxi cab drivers; certain employees of motor carriers who are covered by federal regulations; parts persons, salespersons, service writers, or mechanics employed by motor vehicle dealers; and apprentices receiving classroom instruction.

Sick timeEmployers are not required by Wisconsin law to grant sick leave to their workers, whether with pay or without. There are special exceptions in the Family and Medical Leave Law.

Disputes

Employees have the right to file a wage claim with the department for unpaid wages if there is a dispute with the employer in the amount of wages owed, or if an employer fails to pay the wages agreed upon for time actually worked. If the employer refuses to pay wages earned on the established payday, the employee should request payment.

If the employee does not receive the payment after 6 days, the employee may file a claim with the department. Once a claim is filed, the department will seek to resolve the matter with the employer.

The department may take action on the following types of wage claims:

Salaries

Severance pay

Commissions

Dismissal pay

Holiday pay

Bonuses

Illegal deductions from wages

Vacation pay

Supplemental unemployment compensation benefits when required under a binding collective bargaining agreement

Other similar advantages agreed upon between the employer and the employee, or provided to employees as an established policy

The department may not have authority to take legal action on some claims, including:

Unpaid bills owed to the employee

Claims by independent contractors

Claims already filed in court

Out-of-state employers, in some cases

Union members who wish to file wage claims will be advised by the department to exhaust contractual remedies available through the union before filing a claim.

Persons filing a claim for wages must do so on a form furnished by the department's Equal Rights Division. There is a 2-year statute of limitations on the collection of wage claims. Wages must be claimed within 2 years of the date earned.

[allenmel]

Thank you! I didn't even think of contacting someone like that. Thank you for providing the numbers and resources. As for working while I'm sick, legally is that okay? I just feel like it's against a safety and health rule because I'm contagious. Is there someone i can go to because of that? I have text messages of proof of her saying I'm required to come in even if I'm puking.

[Wiggly Litchi]

Document. Document. Document, and as Alex Egan said, file a case against them.

I had an old LTC try to do the same stuff to me - They even threatened me with losing my job because I was going to be off for a surgery; they wanted me to come back in way sooner than my surgeon cleared me for, to which I said "Heck no" (paraphrased a bit there).

My days off would get changed on a whim, and their favorite thing to do was change the schedule after you'd gone home - then call you the next day and say that you were supposed to be in, and if you didn't show, you'd lose your job.

They'd routinely have staff no call/no show and then complain that staff turnover was high.

I don't think things are going to get better in the short term with your employer though - maybe it's best to file as Alex said, and then start looking for something elsewhere. I know you're pretty young (compared to some of us ducks anyhow, and youth isn't a bad thing!), but learn your rights. Some employers especially will try to walk on the younger staff because they assume that they don't know what their rights are.

[caliotter3]

Your questions are appropriate for your Labor Board. However, expect to lose your job if you don't preemptively resign before filing any formal complaint.

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

Thank you! I didn't even think of contacting someone like that. Thank you for providing the numbers and resources. As for working while I'm sick, legally is that okay? I just feel like it's against a safety and health rule because I'm contagious. Is there someone i can go to because of that? I have text messages of proof of her saying I'm required to come in even if I'm puking.

It may be against some department of health regulation, but from a department of labor view it's leagal. Involving one state agency will often bring another. If they are conducting fraud on how they pay the employees, how much you wanna bet that the back of house financial stuff is all in order? I would bet there is some level of fraud in their billing or patent finance department as well.

[WanderingWilder, ASN]

Personally I'd call their bluff on the threats to fire you. They can't find anyone to work, and have you working every day, but they are going to just up and fire you? Who is going to work those shifts then? They are bluffing. You need to call the labor board about not paying you overtime. Its illegal to not pay someone time and half for over 40 hours. Unfortunately you are being taken advantage of and they probably think they can get away with it because you're young. Don't let them. Get your overtime. Don't go in on your days off unless you want the extra time. If you are sick just call out.

[tell it like it is]

because the labor board only deals with unionized employees.....if not in a union, your slave driving boss can mandate you, cut your wages, fire you without reason, etc I don't care what anyone thinks, the fact s we should all be in one, united stand for each other union

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

because the labor board only deals with unionized employees.....if not in a union, your slave driving boss can mandate you, cut your wages, fire you without reason, etc I don't care what anyone thinks, the fact s we should all be in one, united stand for each other union

Well congratulations that's the wongest thing I've heard today. The board of labor (name may very in some states) is a state agency in charge of enforcement of laws around pay and discrimination. I literally provided the phone number to it. It has nothing to do with unions, nor did anything in this thread involve unions. You are correct issues involving scheduling, and sick leave could be the preview of oreganized labor. Could you provide links or information to the OP on how to start a union in Wisconsin?

[NurseSpeedy, ADN, LPN, RN]

Yeah, I can't see this employer firing anyone because they've already got a name out there for being crap since they can't seem to find people to work shifts. I would be more likely to expect them to be calling you to get you to come back after you quit (I had this with an ALF. Manager was still calling/texting my phone YEARS after I quit. She is now blocked).

RUN like hell from this place. I understand that you enjoy what you do and know the residents but life is short and this is crazy, I'm some cases illegal, and unsafe. As for your days off, your not on call so let the phone go to voicemail or just turn it off. Staffing the facilities holes is not your job, it's your managers. Oh, and file that unpaid OT paperwork when your leaving for good. Too bad it couldn't be timed with the stomach bug because it'd be great to puke in her office trash can since she wouldn't accept a call out.