Is your facility warning staff for overtime, for missing lunch breaks or other?

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Think about what you're doing and the risks you are taking. What happens if there is an incident while you are off the clock? You're **** out of luck. One of our nurses injured herself while 'off the clock'. Workers' Comp refused to pay.

And beyond that, the hospital is reaping financial benefit from your "free" work.

Do you have a union? Hell, you don't even need a union... Think 'Wal-Mart'.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16809248/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/20/national/main533818.shtml

Over 40 class action suits for back pay/overtime pay.

some employees said that they frequently took it upon themselves to clock out after their regular shift and then return to work, with their manager's knowledge and approval. These workers said that they feared that if they did not finish their daily tasks before going home, they would be written up or fired.

There IS precedent here. Federal law is Federal law.

http://www.wal-martlitigation.com/currentd.htm

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

We as nurses work hard. We not only deserve our lunch breaks, but we should REQUIRE that we get them.

There's no 'should' about it--- it's mandated by law. But like the DOL rep told me, employers can do whatever they want and get away with it, until it's reported.

Yosemite, RN, ASN, EMT-I · Oct 11, 2007

Think about what you're doing and the risks you are taking. What happens if there is an incident while you are off the clock? You're **** out of luck. One of our nurses injured herself while 'off the clock'. Workers' Comp refused to pay.
And beyond that, the hospital is reaping financial benefit from your "free" work.
Do you have a union? Hell, you don't even need a union... Think 'Wal-Mart'.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16809248/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/20/national/main533818.shtml
Over 40 class action suits for back pay/overtime pay.
There IS precedent here. Federal law is Federal law.
http://www.wal-martlitigation.com/currentd.htm

Hehehe... don't laugh, but my wife wants me to work at Home Depot before going back to that facility! Of course, that facility is non-union... one WORD of "union," and you'd loose your job.

I've worked management and I know that if management wants you gone, unless you've got a STRONG union, you ARE gone. I don't know about your state, but we have to sign an agreement that either the employer or the employee can terminate employment at any time with no warning... it is up to the employee to prove discrimination or some such.

If you can't get your work done on a regular basis due to horrendous understaffing, you are labeled as "not having good time management skills." It truly is a no-win situation.

I just hope to hell I can find another job ASAP that isn't worse!!!

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Non-exempt employees must be compensated for any time during which they perform activities that benefit the employer.

Arg..... this gets my blood boiling. Sorry...I don't work for free.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2007

There's no 'should' about it--- it's mandated by law. But like the DOL rep told me, employers can do whatever they want and get away with it, until it's reported.

Is this mandated by law, as far as "nursing" goes? Or by state? Because in the state of AZ there is NO law mandating breaks/lunches.

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Is this mandated by law, as far as "nursing" goes? Or by state? Because in the state of AZ there is NO law mandating breaks/lunches.

https://allnurses.com/forums/2417998-post21.html

https://allnurses.com/forums/2418046-post22.html

Section Number: 785.19
Section Name: Meal.
(a) Bona fide meal periods.
Bona fide meal periods are not worktime.

Bona fide meal periods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. These are rest periods.
The employee must be completely relieved from duty for the purposes of eating regular meals.
Ordinarily 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona fide meal period. A shorter period may be long enough under special conditions.

The employee is not relieved if he is required to perform any duties,
whether active or inactive
, while eating. For example, an office employee who is required to eat at his desk or a factory worker who is required to be at his machine is working while eating.

(b) Where no permission to leave premises. It is not necessary that
an employee be permitted to leave the premises
if he is otherwise
completely freed from duties during the meal period
.

According to the DOL rep I spoke with, if you don't get at least 30 uninterrupted minutes away from your work per shift, your employer is obligated under law to pay you for that time.

socalpca · Oct 11, 2007

I've been hearing of nurses getting counseled or warnings about overtime, for missing lunch breaks, late admissions, and misc other reasons... and/or hospitals requiring you to clock out on time, then you have to submit your overtime separately with documentation why you had to have overtime.
Is your facility warning staff for overtime, for missing lunch breaks or other reasons?
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My facility recently started a policy that any exployee who clocks out more than 5 minutes late needs to provide a written reason for the late clock-out and that rationale has to be defended and signed off by the Charge RN for that shift. If the powers that be don't agree with the explanation, both the staff RN and the Charge RN face counseling.

On the one hand, it's nice because we all seem to leave on time more often. However, the negatives out-weigh the positives. Tasks are increasingly passed off to the next shift and I feel that animosity between day & night shift will increase as this policy goes forward.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Federal law.
https://allnurses.com/forums/2417998-post21.html
https://allnurses.com/forums/2418046-post22.html

Thanks.

If this is mandated by law, then why do we hear all of this about people "not having time to sit down all shift" or "never getting a lunch break". Of course employers are going to try and get away with it if they can, especially if they are able to take advantage of people that make it easy to do so, by not demanding they get their breaks.

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Thanks.
If this is mandated by law, then why do we hear all of this about people "not having time to sit down all shift" or "never getting a lunch break". Of course employers are going to try and get away with it if they can, especially if they are able to take advantage of people that make it easy to do so, by not demanding they get their breaks.

I realize my post above the prior one isn't clear. I don't think it's a law that you must have a lunch break, but they must pay you if you don't get one. The DOL rep told me the key is it must be uninterrupted, and that is where most hospitals fail. How many times when you DO get to sit down and eat are you asked about a patient, etc? If that happens, it is considered to be work and you are eligible to be paid for those 30 minutes. Does that make sense?

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2007

I realize my post above the prior one isn't clear. I don't think it's a law that you must have a lunch break, but they must pay you if you don't get one. The DOL rep told me the key is it must be uninterrupted, and that is where most hospitals fail. How many times when you DO get to sit down and eat are you asked about a patient, etc? If that happens, it is considered to be work and you are eligible to be paid for those 30 minutes. Does that make sense?

Ohhh ok. Yeah I thought you were saying Fed. law mandated employers giving you breaks/lunches. And I had NEVER heard that before, so I was wondering how I had been so out of the loop! lol

Thanks for clarifying that!

I must work in an unusual place because very rarely do I get interrupted during my break/lunch. I mean it has happened on occasion, but it's rare and I never felt like I was cheated out of my break/lunch.

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

My facility recently started a policy that any exployee who clocks out more than 5 minutes late needs to provide a written reason for the late clock-out and that rationale has to be defended and signed off by the Charge RN for that shift. If the powers that be don't agree with the explanation, both the staff RN and the Charge RN face counseling.
On the one hand, it's nice because we all seem to leave on time more often. However, the negatives out-weigh the positives. Tasks are increasingly passed off to the next shift and I feel that animosity between day & night shift will increase as this policy goes forward.

It's a 24 hour facility. Not everything can be done in one shift.

Our hospital was forever pushing the envelope lol. A couple of years after the lunch fiasco, we were told that if we worked over and hadn't received prior approval, we wouldn't be paid for it. They were also caught adjusting some clock-in times. Then there was the time they decided to do away with our film badges we wore when caring for radiation patients. And yes, I called the appropriate federal agencies in each of the above instances, and the hospital received notice that no, they weren't above the law no matter how badly they wished to be.

One of the nurses on our sister unit reported her director had instructed her staff to clock out on time and then complete all their tasks they weren't able to finish on time. They got slammed for that as well.

But if we sit back and say nothing, these hospitals will continue to abuse their staff on these issues and get away with it.

EmmaG, RN · Oct 11, 2007

Ohhh ok. Yeah I thought you were saying Fed. law mandated employers giving you breaks/lunches. And I had NEVER heard that before, so I was wondering how I had been so out of the loop! lol
Thanks for clarifying that!
I must work in an unusual place because very rarely do I get interrupted during my break/lunch. I mean it has happened on occasion, but it's rare and I never felt like I was cheated out of my break/lunch.

You've been very lucky indeed. I have only worked one unit in all these years where that was the case. Interestingly enough, they had an extremely low turn-over. Hmmm...