Exempt Policy

[chris4777]

Does anyone really understand the exempt policy? I have a question as to whether or not my job should fall under the exempt policy. I am an RN at a transplant clinic. My title is a transplant coordinator. I work post transplant which is a clinic where we see post-transplant patients. I started this job in Oct. I don't fall under the management category, and I don't fall under the professional like MD or Lawyer category. When I started I was told this was an exempt position, and that it was from 9-5. I was informed by other employees that the docs would run over 5 pm, and that I would have to stay in the clinic until they were done. I approached my supervisor and again I asked if this position was from 9-5, I was told yes on a number of occasions. When a new collegue joined me, we were told that we would have to stay as long as the docs stayed, but that was a rare occasion. Later this turned into, we should not expect to get off of work at 5 pm, that I knew this was an exempt positon, that I am not a team player if I don't stay and support my collegues, and that the people their stay late because they like their jobs. I was originally told this exempt position was from 9-5, not from 9- whenever we get done. I discovered that this clinic has a high turn over rate. I was being trained by agency nurses because there were no regular staff. My employer stated maybe this is not the right position for me after I asked if the exempt policy was created by the Division of Labor. I am wondering if I should go to the Division of Labor Law Enforcement, or if I should give 2 weeks notice and quite. I am not going to work for free that is for sure.

Thanks

Beth

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I'm not sure what you're asking, but I'll move your question to the General Nursing forum for more feedback. Good luck.

[*ac*]

"Exempt" means exempt from overtime pay. It usually means that you're hired at a salary to do a job which does not have specific time limits.

[Jolie, BSN]

If you Google "exempt" and "non-exempt positions", you will get a number of legal and academic websites that outline the difference between the 2 categories.

Overtime is only one of the protections that exempt positions lack.

I don't think there is much you can do to change the status of your job. If you are not satisfied, it may be time to look elsewhere.

Good luck!

[caliotter3]

Your employer has done everything short of showing you the front door, pushing you out of it, and throwing your final pay check after it. When you brought up the question about going to the Division of Labor their reaction all but settled the matter. You need to find a new place to work because it is obvious that they are not going to change anything to suit you and that is precisely why agency nurses were training you. No employer that breaks labor laws and tries to smooth talk around issues like this keeps good employees for very long. Don't wait for another instance to give these people a chance to bad mouth you. And you can expect that they will tell prospective employers that you were hard to work with and not a team player. Good luck in finding an employer with better ethics.

And I can not come up with an excuse to call you an exempt employee. What you are doing should fall under hourly pay and the employer should be paying you accordingly. They are nothing more than dishonest people.

[HM2VikingRN, RN]

I'd be looking. Don't stay where you are not appreciated....