Contract Not Honored

Published

3 yrs. ago there was a mass exodus of nurses from the hospital in question. They then offered all RN's who would make a 3yr committment to stay, a bonus which would be split up and dispersed each yr. for 3 yrs. if certain conditions were met. One of those conditions was that you could not have over 2 unexcused absences within the previous disbersment year. So, many nurses did sign the contract agreeing to stay and help the hospital through this period. Well, the first two yr payments went as planned, everyone getting it. Then hospital was bought out by an investment company who's motto must be "we're so tight we squeak" or "position deleter's R Us". The past several months have been horrible. We never thought it could get worse than what we had before but boy were we wrong. So now came time for the final portion of the bonus to be given and guess what.....all of a sudden over 3/4ths of the nurses who stayed, put up with all kinds of crap to support a flailing hospital, did not get their money. This new "regime" has found, it seems, a way to deny it by citing the 2 day absence condition. They say that the only absence that was considered excused was one that was "scheduled in advance" (duh?). We are all in an uproar over this. Any advice? Anyone with similar experience? What would you do (lawyer.....low on funds). Thanks for your input/opinions.

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There are two options, a class action suit for breach of contract or another mass exodus. I sure wouldn't recommend staying.

Oh, and don't forget the media. Every now and then, they can work to our benefit.

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Sorry to hear that you and the other nurses were cheated out of your bonus. I agree with Kat that the only way to get it is to file a class action suit. I would not stay around for this place, you proved your committment and look what they did. Get out of there and get a new job. It may improve your stress level and even better money. Sometimes staying is the wrong thing to do when it is clear that the institution has no respect for the nurses.

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You mean short of going postal? Just kidding!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

Every state in the union, and you didn't specify where you live so I can't tell you the name of your agency, has a Department of Labor, Labor Commission, or something similar. Check your government pages for the name, phone number, etc.

Go to google and do a search of the relevant regulations, get in touch with you labor department by email or phone (AND keep full notes and records!), and find out how to proceed. This will cost you NOTHING, and usually must be done prior to any other legal action anyway. Be advised that any payment to you will most likely take 9 months to a year and will require your attendance at at least two hearings, so don't spend this $$$ in advance. You will probably need to prove your case, so obtain and keep copies of the previous agreement, records of being paid the first two times, and any other relevant records. You will need it all. Also keep full notes of all related phone calls and meetings.

Been there, done that, so can't pretend to be surprised in the least by this employer's actions.

As I always say:

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

since this software won't let me edit:

it is, or course, "your" department

and, did I mention?: KEEP COPIES OF ALL RELEVANT HISTORICAL AND CURRENT AND UPCOMING RECORDS, PHONE CALLS, AND MEETINGS. You will need to prove your case in a legal proceeding.

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Good advice y'all. sjoe you're awesome. I 'm from Texas and we're so far a non-union state for healthcare. Our Texas Nurses Association does little for us. This hospital is in bad shape anyway, and would really bite the dust if all the nurses they scr...d walked out. I'm talking about nurses who were there when the first brick was laid back in the early 70's. One would think they'd appreciate having staff that are so experienced and committed.

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Specializes in Corrections, Psych, Med-Surg.

"Our Texas Nurses Association does little for us."

And our unions do very little for us. However, you usually have to go through the union steps before a state agency can help out in cases like this--at least in California.

"One would think they'd appreciate having staff that are so experienced and committed."

ONLY if one were very naive and had not read many of the threads on this BB.

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Specializes in IMCU/Telemetry.

Right as usual sjoe

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Why are the names showing up twice on each post, or am I having double vision?

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"One would think they'd appreciate having staff that are so experienced and committed."

ONLY if one were very naive and had not read many of the threads on this BB

No, not naive, we're just a bunch of nurses who opened up this hospital, stuck with it in good and bad times because it took care of us with decent pay and benefits. It truly was a great place to work. But that era is over and now we're in the grips of an administrator who, if possible, would get rid of all of us who are at the high end of the salary band and hire brand new nurses at starting salary. They've already done this at the mid-management level. The director of OB has 1yr nursing experiencing and replaced a nurse with 23yrs OB experience. The ICU is now run by a nurse with 2yrs MED SURG experience after they fired the manager who had 23yrs all ICU experience. All down the line, from nursing to maintenance dept, to RT, and PT......there are examples of people being let go and replaced by those that will be paid much less. just. It's scary what they'll do to save a dime. So I guess the writing is on the wall. Leave or get left.

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