Holiday Pay-- Anyone else heard of this??

Nurses General Nursing

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I've been at my new job since mid April and tomorrow will be my first holiday to work. All the floor staff is required to work every other holiday, and holidays worked is time and a half for pay. Holidays off are not paid anything. I am a full time NOC nurse. Our shift is 10-6 and sometimes 11-7. Holidays are the night of. I am just finding out through other NOC staff that those that are scheduled to work the holiday are only paid time and a half up until midnight and then paid their regular wage. The night staff that work the night before the holiday are paid time and a half from midnight till 0600 or whenever they punch out, regardless of whether or not it's their holiday to work! I've never heard if this before! I don't understand how the night of July 4th is my holiday to work but I'm only going to be paid two hours worth of holiday pay?! That does not seem fair or even legal! If the whole shift is my holiday to work than I should be paid holiday pay for the entire shift worked, right?!

Specializes in NICU.

Our holiday counts as the night going in to the holiday. Holiday pay starts at 2300 the night before as time and a half. For me, I was scheduled from 2300 July 3 to 0730 July 4th, which all counted as holiday pay.

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Specializes in NICU.

In other words, our holiday pay is from 2300 the night before until 2300 the night of.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.
I'm sorry, I don't mean to rant but this really ticks me off. I have a family and young kids, if I have to sacrifice my time with them to work holidays than I should be compensated just the same as the nurses who work the other two shifts. It's BS.

This is where you lost credibility with me. The facility has a policy regarding holiday pay; if you don't like it, either work to change the policy or work to change employers. However, having young kids doesn't mean squat towards either holiday pay or holiday shifts. That implies that your young kids take precedence over anyone else's family that doesn't involve young children. Sorry, but my family of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, nieces, and nephews is just as important. The fact that I have given birth to none of them is irrelevant.

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Specializes in Pedi.
I wouldn't have been paid anything for Memorial Day if my employer either paid holiday pay the night before or the the night of since it was my holiday off. What I'm saying is that between the other NOC nurse and I we've each worked a holiday (after tonight) since May, but because she was scheduled the NOC before she will receive 14 hours of holiday pay whereas I will receiver 2. Same amount of holiday shifts, definitely not the same amount of paid time. And I'm not sure what copius time off is to you but one additional night is not a lot if you ask me. I still worked Memorial Day weekend. And I don't normally complain about having to work holidays, I knew from day one that weekends and holidays come with the territory. What's upsetting is that while I'm required to work a full "holiday" shift I will only be compensated with holiday pay for two of those hours. Why they didn't make the night before a holiday the "holiday" shift is beyond me. And what I meant by it being legal or not is the fact that it's stated in the handbook and benefits package that all floor staff are required to work every other holiday and will be paid time and a half for working their holiday. An employer can't say they're going to pay you x amount of dollars per hour and then actually pay you less, I would think a stated holiday pay would be the same...

The handbook probably also states that holiday time is paid for hours worked on the actual date of the holiday. And, yes, an employer can cut your pay- they do it all the time. They are only legally obligated to pay you minimum wage.

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This happened to me. I worked eight hours on a holiday but was only paid for one hour holiday pay, because they stated the other seven hours occurred on "the next day". Bullloney. Same situation in reverse, to the employer's favor, as they see fit. I no longer work for that dishonest employer. As far as I am concerned, if you work on the holiday then you get paid for it, or not. Be honest about your intentions. I would prefer to work for an employer that is honest about refusing to pay holiday pay, than for one who wants to screw someone for seven hours of premium pay and then rub their nose in it by paying for only one of the hours worked.

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Hi everyone, I'll find my way to the intro page, but right now, I wish to comment here.

I found out about this type of pay right when I first started at each NH I worked at. It didn't seem fair, but I made sure to take full advantage of it in order to get that money, as I came from a manufacturing background and it was different (Each shift got the full holiday pay). It might not seem fair, but them's the rules, and as far as having kids at home, that shouldn't mean anything either.

I picked up open time within those hours both as an LPN and as a CNA.

In one NH, in some instances, it meant picking up and even working a double as both CNA on one shift and LPN on the second shift but it did three things; it got me holiday pay for the whole 16 hours, it got me a $125 bonus for each shift that I picked up to work as a CNA (we were going through an incredibly tough few weeks short-staffed and mandations were back-firing, plus the NH did not use agency), and it put me on the bottom of the list for any LPN mandations, which were also pretty common) Of course, I was paid my nurse wage as a CNA. I was tired but boy, those checks were faaattt.

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It wouldn't balance out in the end though. Just because I have every other holiday off doesn't mean I'll be working the night before on those days, I would only be scheduled to work the day before if it was a regularly scheduled shift. Case in point, Memorial Day was my holiday off as was the night before so I didn't receive any holiday pay. I am off tonight but work tomorrow which is my holiday but will only get 2 hours worth of holiday pay. One of the other NOC nurses worked the night before Memorial Day as well as Memorial Day, she also works tonight. So she will have received 14 hours of holiday pay where as I will have received 2. Come Labor Day she'll have 22 hours and I will still only have 2. How is that right?

In my 14+ years of nursing I have never encountered this before. Holiday NOC shifts were either the night before or the night of, depending on the facility, if the holiday was the night before than everyone working that shift was paid holiday pay, anyone working the night of was paid straight pay because it was no longer the holiday. And if the holiday was the day of than anyone working the night before was paid their regular time and everyone working the night of was paid holiday pay.

if it's my holiday to work but I'm only going to get holiday pay until midnight than I should be able to punch out and go home at midnight since by their theory it's no longer the holiday.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to rant but this really ticks me off. I have a family and young kids, if I have to sacrifice my time with them to work holidays than I should be compensated just the same as the nurses who work the other two shifts. It's BS.

For example, if you come in the night of the 4th at 2300, technically you were only working the "holiday" for an hour. Then it's the 5th...

Those who worked the 3rd at 2300, were there for 8 hours of the "holiday." (Or 12hrs depending on the scheduled shift) That's the way it works at lots of places. Such is night shift life. Sigh. :(

So if your co worker works more "evenings of" the holidays, of course they will get more holiday pay in the end.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

pick your battles, your employer pays time and one half, per hr. the 24hrs of the holiday, which starts at midnight abd ends at the following 23:59 .

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

this is pretty much the normal

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

8 hour shifts? Days & evenings start and end on the same day. Nights straddles 2 calendar days.

12 hours? Days starts & ends on the same day. Night shift, again, straddles 2 days.

Federal law designates Holidays, but no private employer is obligated to pay overtime, or even to give the time off.

But, the reality of the marketplace is that the expectation is to be paid OT for the holiday. Each employer than decides when the holiday pay is paid:

A. If you walk into work during the holiday, (7p or 11p) you get paid OT for your whole shift, even though the majority of the shift occurs after the holiday? This would mean that the person starting on the eve, but actually working 7-8 hours on the holiday wouldn't get any OT. Fair?

B. You get paid OT for the actual time worked on that holiday (calendar day), regardless of your start time. The person who comes in at 11 PM on New Year's Eve, for example, and doesn't get to celebrate NY gets the OT, while the person who gets to party all night & comes in at 11pm on Jan 01 only gets 1 hour.

Would it be fair that someone gets to celebrate then gets the OT, while the person who actually had to work doesn't get the overtime?

It's only a payroll decision, based on how the computer is set up. It costs the employer exactly the same either way. The day is still 24 hours long.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Call Center RN.

That is how the shifts worked for all of my round the clock jobs were. Thankfully I only have a day position and no weekends. WOOT WOOT! So I got paid to enjoy the day with hubby and my beautiful children. Sorry that you are finding this out now. It is much better to know what you are getting into prior to getting into it.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
A. If you walk into work during the holiday, (7p or 11p) you get paid OT for your whole shift, even though the majority of the shift occurs after the holiday? This would mean that the person starting on the eve, but actually working 7-8 hours on the holiday wouldn't get any OT. Fair?

Another example. Suppose a nurse works 11a-11p on July 3. He/She then picks up 11p-3a into July 4. Since she now worked part of the holiday, is her entire shift now time and a half? What about someone scheduled 3p-3a July 3 into July 4. Even though only 3 hours of their shift is on the holiday, should they get holiday pay for all 12 hours?

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