Getting Paid $$ for End-of-Shift Overtime?

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiac Cath/EPS Labs.

This was being discussed on a specialty forum, but it applies universally to hospital nurses, so here goes:

Getting Paid for End-of-Shift Overtime

If a Nurse needs to stay an extra hour after a 12-hour shift to finish (which is a likely scenario for a fresh grad), does a Union make sure she gets paid for that hour, where non-Union hospitals may take the attitude, "Well, it's your fault you didn't finish, so you're on your own time..." I heard of a "friend of a friend" who routinely puts in extra time at the end of a shift at a large Manhattan hospital, but NEVER gets paid...now, I won't name the hospital, because I've never actually spoken to him and the problem may be that he fails to fill out the necessary paperwork (he's a bit "unorganized"). At one of my clinical sites, the Recruiting Office at a smaller Bklyn hospital said it does NOT pay for end-of-work overtime, because it feels the nurse failed to arrange her time appropriately....What are your thoughts?:idea: It's not as if a nurse can leave EARLY if she's completed all her meds and notes...she must stay until the end of the shift and if something happens a minute before the shift ends, she absolutely should be paid to stay and take care of it if needed to do so (even if her replacement nurse has arrived, but needs assistance).

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He/She should be paid. I agree that your more experienced nurse will probably have less overtime. But I have been a nurse for over 20 years and I occasionally have overtime. What if there is a patient on your floor that is crashing, and you are helping your co-worker out to either stabilize or transfer the patient out. Of course you are going to have overtime to complete the work you couldn't get done while you were helping the co-worker out.

There are too many people that don't charge their overtime and that creates an enviroment that leads to burn out. Someone once told me that if you don't charge for overtime and you get sued for something you did during that undocumented overtime will the hospital's malpractice cover you? You weren't on their clock?????

I charge even when it is only 15 minutes of overtime. I volunteer at my kids school not at the hospital. I wouldn't work for a hospital like the small Brooklyn hospital that doesn't pay end of shift overtime.

It may not only be a rule by unions but a state employment rule.

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiac Cath/EPS Labs.

Thanks; perhaps it's a matter of nurses insisting that they get paid--and as you suggested, it may very well be a state-law req't to pay O.T. (I believe federal law exempts nurses--as "professionals"--from required overtime pay [i'm a lawyer, but never specialized in employment law, so not positive about this]) Like the big lawsuits at Wal-Mart (where fed law DOES require OT pay), there were allegations to the effect that Managers "discouraged" workers from submitting OT sheets and pressured them to be "cooperative" and "work as a team"--yeah, which means working for free....Also: Great Point re: being covered under the hospital's malpractice policy if you weren't officially on the clock, e.g., if you're leaving the building in the lobby and a visitor collapses, the insurance carrier--depending on the exact policy contents--might argue that you're not covered....ONE MORE REASON TO INSIST THAT NURSES GET PAID FOR OVERTIME.

He/She should be paid. I agree that your more experienced nurse will probably have less overtime. But I have been a nurse for over 20 years and I occasionally have overtime. What if there is a patient on your floor that is crashing, and you are helping your co-worker out to either stabilize or transfer the patient out. Of course you are going to have overtime to complete the work you couldn't get done while you were helping the co-worker out.

There are too many people that don't charge their overtime and that creates an enviroment that leads to burn out. Someone once told me that if you don't charge for overtime and you get sued for something you did during that undocumented overtime will the hospital's malpractice cover you? You weren't on their clock?????

I charge even when it is only 15 minutes of overtime. I volunteer at my kids school not at the hospital. I wouldn't work for a hospital like the small Brooklyn hospital that doesn't pay end of shift overtime.

It may not only be a rule by unions but a state employment rule.

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You need to check with the wage and hour board. Believe me, if you are working and are not on the clock, your employer is in big trouble. :eek:

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I think that is against labor laws. Hospital would be in big trouble if reported to the labor board, and would probably have to pay back overtime, I would think.

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Oh, and it's not just new grads, some places are so understaffed and overworked that all the staff is staying a couple of hours over to chart. It has nothing to do with the individual nurse's time management skills.

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Oh, and it's not just new grads, some places are so understaffed and overworked that all the staff is staying a couple of hours over to chart. It has nothing to do with the individual nurse's time management skills.

Absolutely!!

I've run into this situation in LTC - I work nites and there are only myself and 1 CNA. So if a lot of patients are on their lites, as frequently happens, my charting gets left until the day nurse comes in.

I get paid my hourly wage, but not overtime. And I'm tired of the overtime - they really need two CNA's at nite. As I only work part-time, I seldom work 40 hours a week, which is the only time they will pay overtime.

My husband stated that he believes, in Iowa anyhow, that they're supposed to pay overtime if you go above your scheduled hours in a day. Does anyone know anything about this?

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiac Cath/EPS Labs.

Two issues here:

1) Whether state law requires payment of overtime. (As I stated earlier, altho' I'm a lawyer, I'm not a specialist in employment law, but am fairly certain that federal law doesn't require OT for nurses, because nurses are considered "professionals"--and therefore "exempt" from overtime provisions.)

2) However, even if hospitals ARE required by law, or have voluntary policies agreeing to pay OT, or have Union agreements to pay overtime, they might be pressuring nurses NOT to submit for the OT, claiming that the hospital is struggling financially and that the nurses should be "a team player" (which is doublespeak for "work for free, sucker"). They also might "guilt" the nurse into thinking it's his/her fault for not having managed their time correctly or having goofed off during the shift, so it's not right to bill for OT....I'm still a student, but will be graduating so wanted to see what's happening in the real world....My feeling is that if my supervisor gave me an extra half-hour for lunch 'cuz things were slow, then I will stay an extra half-hour at the end of the shift for free, but if I am regularly needing to stay 30 minutes late every day, because patient loads are too high, then we nurses should insist on being paid.....

Absolutely!!

I've run into this situation in LTC - I work nites and there are only myself and 1 CNA. So if a lot of patients are on their lites, as frequently happens, my charting gets left until the day nurse comes in.

I get paid my hourly wage, but not overtime. And I'm tired of the overtime - they really need two CNA's at nite. As I only work part-time, I seldom work 40 hours a week, which is the only time they will pay overtime.

My husband stated that he believes, in Iowa anyhow, that they're supposed to pay overtime if you go above your scheduled hours in a day. Does anyone know anything about this?

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Specializes in LDRP.

I am a non union hospital and we sure do get paid for overtime. If they tell me I should have better time management and therefore, not have overtime-they can kiss my orifice and give me less patients. Then I'll be done sooner :)

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Two issues here:

1) Whether state law requires payment of overtime. (As I stated earlier, altho' I'm a lawyer, I'm not a specialist in employment law, but am fairly certain that federal law doesn't require OT for nurses, because nurses are considered "professionals"--and therefore "exempt" from overtime provisions.)

2) However, even if hospitals ARE required by law, or have voluntary policies agreeing to pay OT, or have Union agreements to pay overtime, they might be pressuring nurses NOT to submit for the OT, claiming that the hospital is struggling financially and that the nurses should be "a team player" (which is doublespeak for "work for free, sucker"). They also might "guilt" the nurse into thinking it's his/her fault for not having managed their time correctly or having goofed off during the shift, so it's not right to bill for OT....I'm still a student, but will be graduating so wanted to see what's happening in the real world....My feeling is that if my supervisor gave me an extra half-hour for lunch 'cuz things were slow, then I will stay an extra half-hour at the end of the shift for free, but if I am regularly needing to stay 30 minutes late every day, because patient loads are too high, then we nurses should insist on being paid.....

When I worked at the hospital, we did get overtime if we worked over our scheduled hours, but this is LTC, and it's not just me - ALL the nurses in the facility are there past their scheduled time. My feeling is that if they had to pay time & a half, then they'd start looking at WHY we have to do so much overtime - and maybe hire enough help.

I complained to my DON about the OT, and having to spend so much time answering lites, and doing cares - I was told to tell the CNA that she'd have to answer ALL the lites!!:o Which is total BS as far as I'm concerned - I have a wonderful aide, and she shouldn't be expected to "do it all" on her own. Plus, I can't stand listening to the call lites buzzing for very long.:angryfire

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Specializes in ER, Hospice, CCU, PCU.

I also work at a non-union hospital. We get paid from the time we punch in till the time we punch out except for 1/2 hour lunch. If we have a busy night and don't get lunch we get paid for that to. If you work more that 40 hours a week you are in overtime. We also have 10/hr. bonuses for any 4 hour shifts you pick up after your 36/week. When we are really, really short staffed we offer double time for specific shifts. You get that regardless of how many hours you have worked.

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Specializes in ICU, Cardiac Cath/EPS Labs.

That's great that it's happening....If we have any Union-leaders who are on this site, e.g., NYState Nurses Association leaders, perhaps they could educate us as to precisely what the law requires and what hospital managers actually try to get away with in practice (like employees of Wal-Mart (I think?) who claimed managers discouraged them from submitting for OT, allegedly implying that the employees might be given better evaluations if they "cooperated" by not submitting for the OT).:troll:

I also work at a non-union hospital. We get paid from the time we punch in till the time we punch out except for 1/2 hour lunch. If we have a busy night and don't get lunch we get paid for that to. If you work more that 40 hours a week you are in overtime. We also have 10/hr. bonuses for any 4 hour shifts you pick up after your 36/week. When we are really, really short staffed we offer double time for specific shifts. You get that regardless of how many hours you have worked.
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