Changing Surgical Scrubs

[pete_bobb]

I started at a surgical center last week where the rules state that you MUST wear surgical scrubs in the surgery suites, and you must leave the surgery center scrubs at work at the end of your shift.

The rules state that changing into the employer required scrubs from street clothes at the beginning of the shift and changing from the employer required scrubs to street clothes at the end of the shift is unpaid mandatory work duties for all hourly employees.

In over 20 years of working in PeriOperative, I have never before worked for an employer that did not pay hourly employees for the mandatory changing of clothing from street clothes to surgical scrubs.

Does the Department of Labor have a rule that requires employers to pay hourly employees when the employer requires a work duty to be performed?

Can anyone provide a link to the law?

[netglow, ASN, RN]

Well shoot, how the heck long does it take ya to get into and out of srubs... takes me like two minutes max.

[pete_bobb]

In over 20 years, including over 20 facilities while working as an agency tech, I have never encountered a facility that refuses to pay for manditory work performed.

How often are you forced to work through breaks and lunch and not get overtime pay?

[CaseManager1947]

I used to work OR at my hospital for many years.... one of the nurses looked into this issue, and reported our hospital to the NLRB. The hospital was... GET THIS... required to go back and calculate how much unreimbursed changing time every employee was owed, based upon their start date and pay it all back.... You should know it was a HEFTY chunk o change

[otiscokat]

Several years ago Tyson(the chicken people) was sued bacause of this and they had to pay back multi millions. Federal court told Tyson that they had to pay employees 15 minutes to dress in the a.m. and 15 minutes in the p.m.. You can check with your state labor board and withthe Federal Labor Relations Board. Good luck

[UdonNomi]

You can pretty much count on anytime the facility says it's "mandatory" they have to pay you to do it. Same story with the "mandatory" payday meetings in the LTC industry in Texas.