Have you ironically lost out on a donated perk because you were at work

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Apr 22, 2020

On 4/15/2020 at 9:18 AM, skipper0514 said:
As working in nights all the time. Local food businesses and churches keep bringing food for day shift. Sometimes we find some bad looking or already spoiled leftover sitting on the table in our lounge room.
Also all the events held in the time we sleep like 10 am etc.
We are really the step children...

Speak up so they know when you would appreciate some food on Night shift. You aren't stepchildren, they are just not used to night workers.

DesiDani · Apr 22, 2020

ON A GOOD NOTE. I was craving some popcorn (microwave packs) on my Friday, so I got a big box and left it at work. My unit does that sometimes, some individuals will bring things for the entire unit. It is devoured? It is good thing, because sometimes you forget to pack a lunch and everything is closed during night shift.

Oh yeah, once I got transferred to ER and one of the doctors got takeout for the entire ER staff during the night shift. And it was not pizza and wings. That was cool. The nurse supervisor will order pizza for the units if she feels that the units were short staffed and slammed. Sort of like a "sorry, I am killing you. Have a snack on me". Now that is nice too.

I feel for day shift too. Nights may not be able to benefit from donated perks all the time, but days have to deal with a lot more administration and family. So I'm good where I am at.

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Apr 25, 2020

Speak up. Tell your boss that you and your shiftmates would like some food for a change. I am sick to death of nurses who come here to crab but would never dream of saying anything at work or joining a union.

Have a lovely day.

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DesiDani · Apr 25, 2020

9 hours ago, Kooky Korky said:
Speak up. Tell your boss that you and your shiftmates would like some food for a change. I am sick to death of nurses who come here to crab but would never dream of saying anything at work or joining a union.
Have a lovely day.

Curious are you a union representative? How many changes have you been able to make because you speak up or go to your union?

Also I don't think that an observation always equals a complaint. These donated perks are very nice gestures. No HCP will feel resentful that the public appreciates what we do. Some of the donated perks are ironic, pointing out that irony in my opinion is an observation and not a complaint.

A paraplegic lady won a treadmill on the Price is Right. She could of complained about the insensitivity of the the show, have the show boycotted, and appear on TV blasting the show.

Or she could of just laughed at the irony of it.

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Apr 26, 2020

On 4/12/2020 at 4:58 PM, kbrn2002 said:
Same around here. There's a lot of "appreciation" for the nurses that are suddenly hero's. Nothing but a lot of talk really. A local fast food chain offered a free meal to health care worker's, that was nice for those that took advantage of the perk. Food was delivered by a few restaurants to hospitals but I don't think that every floor received this, from local news reports basically bragging about how the community was supporting health care workers it sounds like they are as long as you work day shift in the emergency room or ICU.
Meanwhile nurses that work in OR's and other units with low to nonexistent census and clinic employees are being laid off, not even given the option to transition to a floor with census and in most cases not being offered anything beyond the ability to burn through their entire accrued PTO for the year and then use whatever sick time they have built up before they can even apply for any unemployment benefits. Instead of bonuses or pay increases there's been layoffs, wage freezes or even reductions. This is affecting direct patient care as well as management, administration and support staff.
LTC continues to be overworked and understaffed, even more so than normal. Plus they are particularly hard hit by the virus and have even in the best of times been well known to operate on the edge of sustainability as far as supplies so a shortage of PPE hit them before anywhere else. Yet they are getting no community love much less parent company love. I haven't heard a word or even a rumor about any LTC, assisted living or group home employees getting any bonuses, bump in pay or increase in any kind of benefits.

Why do you have to use up all of your PTO and other time before you can apply for Unemployment?

kbrn2002, ADN, RN · Apr 26, 2020

8 hours ago, Kooky Korky said:
Why do you have to use up all of your PTO and other time before you can apply for Unemployment?

Because as long as they are burning through that PTO they are still considered currently employed with income rather than laid off or furloughed so they don't qualify for unemployment until that PTO is gone and they have no more income.

I've never actually known a nurse that was laid off well enough to ask if they are paid their accrued PTO when they are laid off though so I am honestly not sure if they would pay out the accrued PTO in that situation.

If you take a leave you have to use your accrued PTO/sick time before you can start using funds from short term of long term disability insurance. In my experience those policies seem to way to expensive for the benefits they offer.

At least in those scenario's though the employee gets to actually use their PTO. There's quite a few ways companies can avoid paying it out altogether. If you quit a job without proper notice, usually at least two weeks though many companies are requiring 4 weeks notice you lose your accrued PTO. The company I worked for had a further stipulation that if you called off or missed scheduled work for any reason after submitting your notice you lose your PTO.

If you are fired you lose your accrued PTO plus you have to prove you were fired without cause to qualify for unemployment. If you quit without that proper notice you lose your PTO plus you have to prove you had a very good reason to quit or you won't qualify for unemployment.

Maybe some states are loosening up on that requirement now, but not Wisconsin. They haven't been able to update their computer systems that processes unemployment applications to allow for COVID exceptions yet. My neighbor works for a liquor store and decided to take time away from work due to underlying health issues that puts him at high risk. He's been denied unemployment three times now. Because the store is still open the unemployment system keeps telling him he doesn't qualify since work hours are available. WI is telling people to keep applying on the unemployment website plus promising approved claims will be backdated to their original filing date and good luck with that process. Even if he is eventually approved what original filing date will apply since he's applied multiple times? I don't have a lot of faith in the state getting this figured out any time soon. In the meantime he has no income and no way of knowing how soon if at all he'll get a check. He's getting worried and may have to return to work just to put food on the table.

DesiDani · Apr 26, 2020

12 hours ago, Kooky Korky said:
Why do you have to use up all of your PTO and other time before you can apply for Unemployment?

I heard that too. If your furloughed you have to use up your PTO first and then apply for unemployment. Not sure if it is true.