Do you get a break?

Gomer · Jan 7, 2004

Spacenurse you should know that breaks are not volunary on the part of the hospital; they are mandatory. According to CA law employers are required to give you a 10 min break every 4 hours and a 30 min meal break after 5 hours. Writing "no break" on your timecard and getting paid for the time does not exempt the employer from giving breaks. If you are not getting your breaks I suggest you contact CA wage and hour dept. (you can get their phone number at http://www.ca.gov) and file a formal complaint. Not only will the hospital be fined for the breaks missed they will be put on notice that they are breaking the law not provide the required breaks.

pickledpepperRN · Jan 7, 2004

Originally posted by Gomer
Spacenurse you should know that breaks are not volunary on the part of the hospital; they are mandatory. According to CA law employers are required to give you a 10 min break every 4 hours and a 30 min meal break after 5 hours. Writing "no break" on your timecard and getting paid for the time does not exempt the employer from giving breaks. If you are not getting your breaks I suggest you contact CA wage and hour dept. (you can get their phone number at http://www.ca.gov) and file a formal complaint. Not only will the hospital be fined for the breaks missed they will be put on notice that they are breaking the law not provide the required breaks.

Thank you!

We did not clock out. We filled out the form for "no break" and were paid for 14 hours when we were there for 12 1/2.

This rarely happens and our manager will come in if we call her so rather than "cry wolf" we told the shift supervisor to call her is we had another in house code or ER admit.

To be honest If not for the unity of our staff and the fact that in my opinion this keeps our staffing good most of the time I would quit.

Many of us came to work here when single and now are grandparents! We have attended weddings, baby showers, parties of all sorts, taken each others kids to Disneyland, and attended the weddings of each others kids.

We have cried with each other over the deaths of parents and spouses, one daughter who died of cancer. We have supported friends through divorce and returns to school for BSN etcetera.

Many of our nurses were once travelers. Our night shift is united in providing safe, effective, therapeutic, and quality patient care.

They need us more than we need them so we are very careful when we challenge the management.

THEN WE WIN!

A letter was signed by all but one new nurse that we need a system for staffing so we always get our breaks barring a true disaster such as an earthquake.

They know this cannot become the norm.

I really wanted to hear from the nurses who support the CHA lawsuit that says maintaining the minimum ratios at all times is a good use of the courts.

Some nurses like to go on break together, others feel it is just as unsafe if a nurse is with a patient when another patient is in need so a fellow nurse attends to the needs of that patient.

While I think the attitude "That is not my patient" is no excuse for ignoring a call light that light is more likely to be answered when there is the minimum number of nurses and aides on the floor.

Anyone think it is OK to not provide an RN to take responsibility for the patients assigned to him or her when taking a meal or rest break?

liddykay · Jan 7, 2004

Space Nurse, No I do not think it is safe to leave your patients with a nurse who has a full team already. Neither do I think it is good for nurses to not get a break from the floor they are working on. Sometimes the stress level is enough to make you go crazy. I would be more likely to make a mistake if I don't have a break than if I do. I really don't know what the answer is to this dilemma. I know that our manager when she is at work does not come around and make sure that anyone gets a break so it makes it a difficult place to work at times. I know that it is the law for minimum breaks. but we certainly don't get them in our hospital and some nurses will go day after day with no break and then they become burnt out. WE NEED OUR BREAKS!!!:)

Gomer · Jan 8, 2004

Safety isn't the issue in the "you write on your time card and get paid for no breaks" policy. It's against the law. If you are willing to report ratio violations you should also be willing to report no break violations. I believe Cedars was just fined and had to back pay employees for no-breaks and managers doctoring time cards.

pickledpepperRN · Jan 8, 2004

Originally posted by Gomer
Safety isn't the issue in the "you write on your time card and get paid for no breaks" policy. It's against the law. If you are willing to report ratio violations you should also be willing to report no break violations. I believe Cedars was just fined and had to back pay employees for no-breaks and managers doctoring time cards.

Gomer you are right!

Here I am talking about being strong yet wimping out myself just because it rarely happens and I was not willing to call in our manager that night.

Thank you.

Kashia, ASN, LVN · Jan 8, 2004

Our rural hospital has been out of touch with reality and only two months ago adapted to the laws for breaks....after I pointed out it was law-follwing an incident when I sat down for a couple minutes at the desk ( there was no one to cover me) and maniac charge nurse had another emergency...( me sitting down for a second) I believe these laws in Calif went into effect in 2001?

Law or not, it is negligent for nurses to not have breaks - charge nurses too...they do have an enormous amount of stress.

what is wrong with this picture???

I personally did not go into nursing to help hospitals have a successful and profitable business. receiving care is as basic a human right as air food and water.

pickledpepperRN · Jan 9, 2004

http://www.calnurse.org/cna/collect/otcb6800.html

IT'S YOUR RIGHT! CLAIM YOUR OVERTIME!

DON'T SHORTCHANGE YOURSELF.

DON'T SHORTCHANGE YOUR PATIENTS.

Periodically, CNA receives reports that nurses feel pressured not to claim overtime. Yet, the trend on many units is to increase patient loads assigned to RNs while patient acuity is also increasing. Cuts in ancillary staff result in added work for RNs. Replacing RNs with unlicensed personnel results in more work for the remaining RNs. Inevitably these changes result in increased overtime.

IT'S THE LAW, CLAIM YOUR TIME.

Federal Law, State Law and your Union contract all require your employer to pay you for all hours worked, including overtime and working through your meal break. Under Section 210 of the California Labor Code, failure to pay wages that are due, is subject to a civil penalty. If you fail to claim your time, you are falsifying your own time records.

IT IS PROFESSIONAL TO CLAIM YOUR TIME.

Sometimes nurses feel that it reflects poorly on them as professionals if they cannot complete their work in an eight hour shift. It is because you are responsible for the care of your patients that you often cannot simply walk out at the end of your shift. When a patient's condition deteriorates late in your shift, as a professional, you prioritize that patient. If that means other work is not completed during your 8-hour shift, as a professional you stay over to complete it. As a professional you may have to stay over so as not to shortchange your patients. Charting is part of your professional and legal responsibility. Charting is work. If you have to stay past the end of your shift in order to complete your work, claim your time.

DON'T BE AFRAID, CLAIM YOUR TIME.

Sometimes, nurses feel intimidated by managers who discourage overtime and blame the nurse, suggesting s(he) is not well organized. Increased patient loads, and increased acuity are the primary reasons why nurses work overtime. In fact, it would be dishonest to pretend you could complete the work in less time than it takes. Don't be intimidated. You are a patient advocate. Advocate for quality care. If you are denied overtime, file a grievance.

NOT CLAIMING YOUR TIME UNDERMINES YOUR COLLEAGUES, YOUR PROFESSION, AND YOUR PATIENTS.

Not recording time that you work creates the illusion that you have adequate staffing on shifts when you don't have sufficient or appropriate staff. This serves to justify short staffing and in turn may lead to further reductions in staff.

IF YOUR OVERTIME IS DENIED, FILE A GRIEVANCE.

Refusal to pay you for time worked is a contract violation. If you are not paid, you should try to correct the problem through the payroll adjustment process. If you are still not paid, talk to a nurse rep or call your labor rep. Don't delay. There is a time limit for filing grievances.

pickledpepperRN · Jan 9, 2004

http://are.berkeley.edu/heat/200-243.html

LABOR CODE

SECTION 210. In addition to, and entirely independent and apart from, any

other penalty provided in this article, every person who fails to pay

the wages of each employee as provided in Sections 204, 204b, 204.1,

204.2, 205, 205.5, and 1197.5, shall be subject to a civil penalty

as follows:

(a) For any initial violation, fifty dollars ($50) for each

failure to pay each employee.

(b) For each subsequent violation, or any willful or intentional

violation, one hundred dollars ($100) for each failure to pay each

employee, plus 25 percent of the amount unlawfully withheld.

The penalty shall be recovered by the Labor Commissioner as part

of a hearing held to recover unpaid wages and penalties pursuant to

this chapter or in an independent civil action. The action shall be

brought in the name of the people of the State of California and the

Labor Commissioner and the attorneys thereof may proceed and act for

and on behalf of the people in bringing these actions. All money

recovered therein shall be paid into the State Treasury to the credit

of the General Fund.

232. No employer shall do any of the following:

(a) Require, as a condition of employment, that any employee

refrain from disclosing the amount of his or her wages.

(b) Require any employee to sign a waiver or other document which

purports to deny the employee the right to disclose the amount of his

or her wages.

against, for job advancement, an employee who discloses the amount of

his or her wages.

pickledpepperRN · Jan 9, 2004

http://www.calnurse.org/cna/collect/loriada.html

WHAT RNS SHOULD KNOW

Disability, Sick Leave, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Workers' Compensation, Family Leave . . . . . . .

For obvious reasons, most people don't learn much about any of these benefits until they need them. Even State and Federal laws are occasionally subject to modification or new interpretations. The Employer's policies for implementing these benefits also tend to change periodically, and a lot of employees find out the hard way what hoops they need to jump through. Here are a few guidelines.

New Law Grants 50% of Annual Sick Time For a Sick Child, Spouse or Parent

Assembly Bill 109, the Knox bill, was signed into law by Governor Davis and is now effective. It requires any employer who provides sick leave to permit an employee to use 1/2 of their annual sick leave accrual in any calendar year to attend to an illness of a child, parent, or spouse of the employee. This does not mean that you can use half of what you have accrued altogether but only half of what you accrue each year.

Get Disability Insurance (SDI)

If you are off sick or you are injured with a non-work related injury or illness for more than 7 days, you should apply for State Disability Insurance (SDI). Sutter Solano will integrate your accrued sick leave with SDI to equal 100% of your pay provided you have enough accrued sick time on the books. There is a 7-day waiting period for SDI.

Worker's Compensation

There are 3 types of work-related injuries:

1) Specific: occurring from one accident.

2) Cumulative: caused by repetitive activities over time.

3) Occupational Disease: due to exposure to hazardous substances or conditions on the job.

Sometimes there is no dispute as to whether an injury is job related. If there is a dispute, you should consult with a Worker's Compensation attorney. This is a very specialized area of the law. Workers Comp lawyers always work on a contingency basis so there are no up-front costs.

Unless you are permanently disabled from your job, as an injured worker, you receive some special protections. You cannot be disciplined for your injury or for injury-related absences.

Fill Out and Turn in Personal Choice Forms to See Your Own Doctor

When you are injured on the job, the Employer has the right to say who provides treatment for the first 30 days, unless you pre-designate your own regular doctor. But, if you have notified your employer in writing, prior to the date of injury, that you have a personal physician, you have the right to be treated by that physician immediately.

If you want to be treated by your own doctor from day one of an injury, you must do this.

Family & Medical Leave (FMLA)

The FMLA provides for up to 12 weeks off work per year to care for yourself, or for a parent, spouse, or child, who is suffering from a serious health condition. The law only applies to people who have worked at least 1250 hours during the 12 months preceding the leave, so it does not apply to people who work a half time schedule or less. FMLA requires the employer to maintain your health coverage on the same basis that you had before you went on leave. If you did not have coverage before you went on leave, you still won't, but if you had it, the Employer continues it on the same basis as if you were still working.

Time off due to Family & Medical Leave under FMLA should not be counted as an absence under an Employer's absenteeism policy. Therefore you may not be disciplined for absences that occur under FMLA.

You have the responsibility to notify the Employer 30 days in advance that you need to take a Family or Medical Leave and to fill out the paperwork. In the case of an emergency, provide notice as soon as you can.

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

A person with a physical, or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity is "disabled" under ADA. A few examples of conditions that are covered include: HIV infection, alcoholism, cancer, diabetes, migraines, asthma, learning disabilities, speech disorders, hearing and visual impairments, etc. If you qualify under ADA, you are entitled to "Reasonable Accommodations" to do your job. One accommodation is leniency with respect to absenteeism policies.

In order to assure accommodation, the employee should explicitly disclose their disability. Any medical information you provide to your employer must be kept confidential except to the extent it is necessary to accomplish an accommodation.

gloria1234 · Sep 20, 2009

Can someone tell me......I was told that the hospital I work for has pemission by the state of NC......that working in the ER, they don't have to give you lunch or breaks.....that labor laws don't apply to ER's...that they can make you work the whole 12 hours. The PA's I work with....don't take a break or lunch EVER!!