I can't use sick time I've earned??

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Jan 15, 2013

Only one job that I worked could you use PTO if at 30 days after completing orientation, if you worked full time and X hours worked if you were part time or per diem. I think the standard is usually minimum 90 days post orientation, you can bank but you are not entitled to this benefit. If you think of it as insurance rather than as an 'earned benefit'....

I've never worked at a job were you could use sick/PTO time during orientation, you were lucky you accrued time during that period.

edmia, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2013

I could use sick time the day I started if I needed it because I was sick. Isn't that the point? Union shop though, so our rules are different because we negotiated all that into our contract. Love the union!

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mindlor · Jan 15, 2013

unionize unionize unionize.

that IS the answer to such foolishness

~PedsRN~, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2013

unionize unionize unionize.
that IS the answer to such foolishness

I don't think mandating a 90 day policy before they pay you for TIME OFF is foolishness.

I'd like the nurses working with me to actually be ORIENTED to the unit before they skip out on vacay. :sarcastic:

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jan 15, 2013

This may be standard policy amongst non unionized employers, but it's still fundamentally wrong. It's scary how the American worker is becoming increasingly complacent to his basic rights being trampled. Not being able to use sick time for 365 days? Are there any labor laws left at all?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2013

This may be standard policy amongst non unionized employers, but it's still fundamentally wrong. It's scary how the American worker is becoming increasingly complacent to his basic rights being trampled. Not being able to use sick time for 365 days? Are there any labor laws left at all?

Labor laws in the United States do not require any paid time off at all. PTO is a benefit your employer chooses to offer.

T-Bird78 · Jan 15, 2013

Any office I worked in wouldn't let you use PTO until after 90 days. One office let you start accruing at day one, some don't start until day 90. I had one manager REFUSE to let you use PTO for a sick day unless you had a note from your doctor, whether it was an appointment or a full day. If you woke up with the 24-hour stomach bug that was going around and called out to stay home and throw up and eat chicken noodle soup then you couldn't use your time. If you had a doc appt and had to leave at lunch for it, no PTO without a note. I had to BEG to use PTO when we had a death in the family and I took a day off for the funeral! Yet when the doctor decided to close the office the day before or after a holiday we had to use our PTO for that day that HE decided to close, like the day after Thanksgiving. Another place I worked actually encouraged using your PTO but if one person in your specific office was already off then you couldn't take that same day off, so the PTO calendar would fill up by February.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jan 15, 2013

I don't think mandating a 90 day policy before they pay you for TIME OFF is foolishness. I'd like the nurses working with me to actually be ORIENTED to the unit before they skip out on vacay.

PTO encompasses sick time as well as vacation time. I get that calling off during orientation is frowned upon. Of course it is. But people DO get sick during orientation. It can happen. And if I have EARNED so much as one hour of PTO I have a right to use it, no matter what. I don't see this as any different from an employer refusing to pay a worker for time worked. It's all compensation.

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jan 15, 2013

Labor laws in the United States do not require any paid time off at all. PTO is a benefit your employer chooses to offer.

Yes, well, I'm saying PTO SHOULD be a legally protected right. I guess I thought it was, once upon a time. Maybe not. We are not a particularly enlightened country when it comes to the rights of labor.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2013

That seems So wrong. I did call out...had the flu. I'm Not one of theses nurses that works Sick!

That is fine...but you will not get paid. Many facilities consider orientation/probation/temporary which does not qualify you for benefits. Unlike other professions a nurses sick time accrual is not intended for use. You will not be bought out of it (like we used to) and when you quit you will not be given a check for hours accrued and if you use it excessively you wil be written up......welcome to nursing. That is why a PTO system is better.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jan 15, 2013

This may be standard policy amongst non unionized employers, but it's still fundamentally wrong. It's scary how the American worker is becoming increasingly complacent to his basic rights being trampled. Not being able to use sick time for 365 days? Are there any labor laws left at all?

No...and there never really was. It's mostly fluff. There are some......but not as many as many Americans thing there are. This is also true for Union facilities. As a matter of fact you aren't protected by the Union until off orientation. They do have their PTO collective bargained into the contract with very strict rules about it's usage. At least in union facility....it gives you a voice,

ThePrincessBride, MSN, RN, NP · Jan 15, 2013

I don't think mandating a 90 day policy before they pay you for TIME OFF is foolishness.
I'd like the nurses working with me to actually be ORIENTED to the unit before they skip out on vacay.

Since when is being sick the equivalent to "skipping out on vacation"? Seriously?

If a person is sick, then they are sick. In healthcare especially, coming in to work sick could be dangerous not just to your coworkers, but to vulnerable patients. Shame on the hospital/healthcare facility that doesn't provide sick leave.