Brief backstory: I am a registered nurse. I graduated in 2011 and found my first job in a hospital that same year working on a floor. I worked 80 hours every 2 weeks, which consisted of six 12 hour shifts and one eight hour shift. The hospital had high turnover and was in an economically depressed area in upstate NY. I worked at that hospital for about seven months before moving on and moving to a different state.
Generally I worked my six twelve hour shifts in succession so that I could have a long stretch of days off. For example, I would work my six twelve hour shifts in a row then get like 8 days off. However, even though I would sometimes 60 to 72 hours in one week, I was never paid overtime. My coworkers explained that because the two weeks were averaged into a single pay period and that because I didn't go over 80 hours, I wouldn't receive overtime. I didn't know much about labor and how that all works so I just accepted that as true. Now its 2014 and when I tell people about how I was paid, they all tell me that what my employer was doing was illegal.
Is that true? How far back would I even be allowed to take action for this?
I see that they do not identify that specifically, thank you for that clarification.
But the FLSA does recognize the ability to pay based upon OT in a work week RATHER than the hours per day, which covers the 12 hour shifts of many health care professionals.
Would you agree?
No. FLSA states that all non-exempt employees must be paid overtime at a rate of not less than 1.5x their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The work week as the method for calculating overtime is the standard method. Nurses can work exclusively 12 hr shifts and never earn a dime of overtime based on the FLSA, since the work week not the work day is the standard method for calculating overtime.
FLSA doesn't state that employees (healthcare or not) must be paid overtime based on the hours worked in a day, unless healthcare employers are utilizing the 8/80 system. If hospitals/nursing homes choose to utilize the 8/80 system, then they have to pay overtime in the situation where the employee works more than 8 hours in a day (even if he doesn't work more than 80 hrs in that 2 week period) and in the situation where the employee works more than 80 hrs in 2 weeks (even if he doesn't work any shifts over 8 hours).
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Most hospitals here utilize the 40 hour rule. Even though pay is bi-weekly, each Sun-sat week is a discreet event. OT is paid after 40 hours, whether worked over 3 days, or 6.
One organization did have the 8/80 rule, meaning you'd get paid OT after 80 hours in a pay period ~or~ Anything over 8 hours in a single day.
that is the caveat right there, because these are regularly scheduled 12 hour shifts the hospital is NOT using an 8/80 system, they are using a 12/80 system.
That is my point. They are not following an 8/80 system. They're using their own system which is not legal.
My current hospital uses the traditional 40 hour rule. They will schedule you only for 3 12s a week. If you pick up extra or they ask you to come in extra, you will be paid overtime if you go over 40 hours.
My old hospital would schedule you for 5 or 6 12 hour shifts in a row which exceeded 40 hours and didn't pay OT for it. They also didn't pay OT for going over 8 hours. This is why it seems something is odd.
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6 12 hours shifts is 72 hours. If they split that time over the weekend having 3 on one week 3 on the other....they are fine. New York has some specific laws. You need to call the labor board. Your question can't be answered here. Let us know what they say.
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
That is my point. They are not following an 8/80 system. They're using their own system which is not legal.
It may or may not be. For example....fire fighters who work 24 hours...they are not paid OT unless over 40/week/80/2 week. You need to call the labor board.
Depends on when the payroll week begins and ends. I work Thurs-Tues (12-hour shifts), but Thurs, Fri, Sat are in one 'week', and Sun, Mon, Tues are in the next, so I only work 36 hours per 'week', even though they are all in a row. Totally legal.
If you work an extra day on either side of your scheduled shifts then 4 hours of it will be regular pay until you reach 40 hours for the 'week', then the remaining hours will be overtime.
In the last hospital I worked, we were scheduled for 12h hours 3x/week. It was 72h/pay period. We were only paid overtime if we exceeded 40h/week, so if we worked an extra "12", the first 4 hours counted towards 40h/week or 80h/pay period. Pay period was Friday to Thursday, but that can vary. Where I work now, the pay period is Wednesday to Tuesday and I work 40h/week. If I'm sick one week and use sick time, even if I pick up an extra shift the next, that counts towards my 80h, because the sick time is just that (not worked) and I only get overtime if working more than 80h/pay period.
Hmmmm...well I worked for a VA hospital for several years as a nurse. And in the VA system, nurses are allowed to self schedule with any combo of hours that equal to eighty in a two week period. Some nurses did all 8's, some did two 12's and two 8's per week, some did six 12's and one 8 per pay period. The union agreement was written in such a way that this was allowable and did NOT create overtime, even if your six 12's were in a row. And this was the United States Federal Government I worked for, so I feel quite sure it's legal.
To the OP...my thoughts are this: people sue over many many things. If YOU agreed to work the hours you worked at the time, please don't be trying to get money out of the hospital system NOW years later. I get so tired of people trying to make a quick dollar utilizing the legal system in America. If you agreed to it at the time, and thought it was fair then, then why try to go after the company years later? I mean seriously? Let it go!
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No. FLSA states that all non-exempt employees must be paid overtime at a rate of not less than 1.5x their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The work week as the method for calculating overtime is the standard method. Nurses can work exclusively 12 hr shifts and never earn a dime of overtime based on the FLSA, since the work week not the work day is the standard method for calculating overtime.
FLSA doesn't state that employees (healthcare or not) must be paid overtime based on the hours worked in a day, unless healthcare employers are utilizing the 8/80 system. If hospitals/nursing homes choose to utilize the 8/80 system, then they have to pay overtime in the situation where the employee works more than 8 hours in a day (even if he doesn't work more than 80 hrs in that 2 week period) and in the situation where the employee works more than 80 hrs in 2 weeks (even if he doesn't work any shifts over 8 hours).
KelRN215, BSN, RN
1 Article; 7,349 Posts
No. FLSA states that all non-exempt employees must be paid overtime at a rate of not less than 1.5x their regular rate for all hours worked over 40 in a week. The work week as the method for calculating overtime is the standard method. Nurses can work exclusively 12 hr shifts and never earn a dime of overtime based on the FLSA, since the work week not the work day is the standard method for calculating overtime.
FLSA doesn't state that employees (healthcare or not) must be paid overtime based on the hours worked in a day, unless healthcare employers are utilizing the 8/80 system. If hospitals/nursing homes choose to utilize the 8/80 system, then they have to pay overtime in the situation where the employee works more than 8 hours in a day (even if he doesn't work more than 80 hrs in that 2 week period) and in the situation where the employee works more than 80 hrs in 2 weeks (even if he doesn't work any shifts over 8 hours).