IPN 40 hour restrictions

Published

So IPN has a 40 our a week restriction. My question is how strict is this and is there any leeway. Sometimes the relief comes in late and you can’t abandon your patients so you have to stay is that mean I have to leave early another day to compensate? And what if you’re busy and couldn’t get your 30 minute break does that mean I have to leave 30 minutes early? 
And what happens with daylight savings time, in the fall when you have an extra hour for that shift do I have to leave an hour early?

I am new to this and my first week back because of staff shortages and people being late I was pulled over on my hours and because I don’t know the answer I ended up clocking out for five hours for the week while I was working so I wouldn’t get more than 40 but I was still technically working just not clocked in for those five hours. Not sure how it’s all tracked if I PN gets a copy of your time clock to see exactly what you worked or if a supervisor just checks off a box saying yes or no overtime/over 40 hours. Can someone shed some light on this please

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OR.

No, IPN does not get any copies of your time card. These people lead you to be paranoid enough that you would think they did. Unless things have changed, the only thing they get is the little quarterly report where your designated supervisor checks wether you worked overtime or not. 
Granted I’ve been away from those awful people for a few years now, but as I recall, if you worked 12s, your limit was 84 hours per 2 week pay period but if you worked 8s, you were supposedly limited to 80 hours per 2 week pay period. So, by working 12s, you could ostensibly pick up an extra shift per pay period. Yes, I know it makes no sense but since when is making sense any part of this horrible and mostly unhelpful experience.

Also, working while off the clock is highly illegal and puts you in a very delicate situation if something were to happen. If you were injured, for example and working off the clock, you are not covered by workers comp and your employer can get in trouble too. Those are actual bonafide laws and not the imaginary mind games and spineless threats from IPN. You having to stay (on the clock) until your relief arrives so that patients are properly cared for trumps IPNs stupid crap, both legally and ethically. 
I’m not a lawyer and not giving out legal advice. I’m just another person who’s been a victim of their BS and learned to stand up for myself.

So that being said, don’t be volunteering for extra shifts or anything but no faceless entity like IPN can demand that you work off the clock or abandon your patients on the the basis of invented rules in a badly written contract with components that probably wouldn’t stand up in court anyway. They get away with this behavior because they assume (sadly, to often correctly) that their victims have neither the financial resources or the intestinal fortitude to take them to court.

Just follow the stupid contract, don’t drink, pass your pee tests and turn in all their little bits and bobs of useless paperwork (that I doubt they actually even bother to read, IMO). At one point I managed to not have any contact with the witch that was my case manager for something like 18 months. I tried to keep it to a minimum so I had fewer opportunities to tell them exactly what I thought of them and their abusive little scam operation. While that may have been greatly satisfying, it probably would not have been useful. I waited until I was out of their clutches to speak my mind.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I understand the purpose of that role is so you don’t pick up extra shifts. And personally I don’t consider staying to your relief comes is picking up extra shifts. I spoke to them this morning and they said the same thing you said. I work two 16 hour shifts and and 8. She  mentioned it that if it was going to be a continual thing for me to possibly take off on of the shifts so make up for it. That of course is not feasible I never know when I’m gonna have to stay a little late, that screws up the schedule that they make ahead of time and they will constantly have to find replacements for me, loss of income, not to mention where I work at even though working 32 hours is technically full-time they don’t consider it full-time. My pay will drop the $16 an hour I’ll lose my benefits and retirement. Five years from now can’t come soon enough. I wish it was like probation or they can offer early termination of contract. Kind of like good time gained. 

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OR.

Absolutely. Staying until your relief gets in does not constitute an extra shift. Considering that I am pretty sure the clowns that run this show have not been anywhere near an actual patient in a coon’s age, they have zero idea (or more accurately don’t care) just how unrealistic their rules are. Remember these are the people whose ‘official’ position on hand sanitizer is to not use it. Ummm…m’okay, how does that work anyway? 
After 4+ years of perfect adherence, I tried to negotiate an early out. There was a line in the contract that stated that was supposedly a possibility. Yeah, not so much. Like a lot of what they say/do, it’s pretty language that in reality is nonsensical garbage that ranges from meaningless to outright lying. After supplying supporting letters from shrink, therapist, NSG moderator (who actually got her hand slapped for supporting my request) and my attorney, in an effort to be done early, I was told ‘they felt I would benefit from completing the final 6 months of the contract.”  Yeah, don’t know who would benefit, but it sure as hell wasn’t me.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I’m sorry that happened to you

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in RNC-OB,L&D,Antenatal testing, Oncology.

I am too a graduate from the FL program. I was released two months earlier and I’m grateful. During my 5 years, IPN never asked for my time sheet and in my quarterly self evaluation I was asked if I had worked overtime during that period. Staying late to wait for your relief is not the same as picking up an extra shifts. Also, when you work 12 hours shift, you work 36 weeks one week and 48 hours the second week. Just make sure you communicate with your CM and stay truthful. Good luck 

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion