Is It Possible An LPN Can Make More Then An RN?

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I'm an RN. I work for a well known national home care agency. Somehow payroll mixed up our paychecks; I got her (she is an LPN ) hourly rate of pay on my paycheck and she got mine.

I found out she was making $23.00 an hour but I am making $21.00, and we both work on the same cases, so the acuity level of the clients is the same. She has been with this particular office for 2 years. I been with this office for 5 months. How do i approach the clinical manager about how unfair that is? (We also have the same level of experience)

Specializes in MS, LTC, Post Op.

The OP said the LPN had been there for 2 year vs. her 5 months. The LPN obviously has more home care experience and the wages reflect that.

Now...I had been a LPN for 4 years and was working in a hospital making about $13.00...come to find out, one of the guys that I worked with, who was also a LPN, who was a new hire vs. my year experience AND was fresh out of LPN school, was making $3.00 more a hour than me.

I was upset, but what could I do? It wasn't fair, but I kept my mouth shut.

My aunt is a CNA with 18 years experience...she makes more than I do as a LPN...which I am thrilled for her cause she so deserves to make that kinda $$ cause she is an EXCELLENT Aide!

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.

If someone chooses to do a job that a person with less education and lower wages can also do, I don't understand why it upsets people when a company doesn't want to pay the higher wage. Normally in home health if there is something to be done that only an RN can do (which varies ie in my state LPNs can gavage feed infants), the RN will visit multiple homes to do that task. Example- one of our patients that is on LPN care needed a course of IV anti-biotics. The RN arrived, gave the med, and left to do the same type of thing in other homes.

Even a crummy company like Company "M" has the right to run their business in a cost effective manner. The company I'm with now is great, but things in my state are so dicey they very well could be forced out of business. No one wants that. We're fighting hard just to keep our patients from having even more skilled nursing hours taken away.

If RNs are upset because they take a job an RN normally doesn't do in that company, and they want to be paid for what they theoretically could do, why not become a case manager or do all IVs and and get paid wages insurance companies will reimburse for?

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Two years is not sufficient to explain away the pay disparity, especially with the company in question. If the LPN had 20 years experience, maybe. The RN was told there had been a reduction in reimbursement rates. That would have justified paying the LPN a wage commensurate with the LPN wage scale before telling an RN that she had to be paid lower than an LPN on the same case. This company is not averse to adjusting wages according to changes in circumstances. It would make sense to make things fair and equitable. Then employees aren't encouraged to find better employers.

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If someone chooses to do a job that a person with less education and lower wages can also do, I don't understand why it upsets people when a company doesn't want to pay the higher wage. Normally in home health if there is something to be done that only an RN can do (which varies ie in my state LPNs can gavage feed infants), the RN will visit multiple homes to do that task. Example- one of our patients that is on LPN care needed a course of IV anti-biotics. The RN arrived, gave the med, and left to do the same type of thing in other homes.

Even a crummy company like Company "M" has the right to run their business in a cost effective manner. The company I'm with now is great, but things in my state are so dicey they very well could be forced out of business. No one wants that. We're fighting hard just to keep our patients from having even more skilled nursing hours taken away.

If RNs are upset because they take a job an RN normally doesn't do in that company, and they want to be paid for what they theoretically could do, why not become a case manager or do all IVs and and get paid wages insurance companies will reimburse for?

I gueass private duty is one of those hit or miss jobs because when I was in another state with this same company, they had rns and lpns on the same cases getting paid according to title. We even had an all rn team of nurses in a lot of the homes doing private duty,not visits. In nj I'm seeing some things that are not similiar to the rest of the country because I have seen a private duty company advertise "Rns only" where as in this state its unusual for rns to do pdn. But,if that company,m, didn't want rns to do pdn because of the low reimbursement rate, why advertise for rns and lpns? Its all over their website. Why not just advertise lpns only? (Oh and in nj only bsns can be case managers)

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Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
I gueass private duty is one of those hit or miss jobs because when I was in another state with this same company, they had rns and lpns on the same cases getting paid according to title. We even had an all rn team of nurses in a lot of the homes doing private duty,not visits. In nj I'm seeing some things that are not similiar to the rest of the country because I have seen a private duty company advertise "Rns only" where as in this state its unusual for rns to do pdn. But,if that company,m, didn't want rns to do pdn because of the low reimbursement rate, why advertise for rns and lpns? Its all over their website. Why not just advertise lpns only? (Oh and in nj only bsns can be case managers)

Oh, I didn't know that! In that case you absolutely should be paid more than an LPN/LVN!! If you do the work, sacrifice, money and time, you have every right to be compensated fairly for it!! I'm even upset now, 'cause even though I live in a big giant high cost of living state, too, I've been doing this for 5 years, and I make less than $21.00 per hour!!! As for why the M word company does ANYTHING they do, is beyond me. I'm going to just conclude they have their heads in a dark anatomical location. Really, if you're ever bored do an allnurses search for them. O. M. G.:uhoh21::uhoh21::uhoh21:

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I found out an LPN I was working with was making 2 dollars an hour more than me and was hired after me. I am also an LPN with 33 years experience. I did speak to the CFO about it . Nothing was done about it. I was never regarded the same. Eventually I left that job and I really did like that job. My advise is to keep that informaion to yourself. I wish I had!

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The one guarantee in life besides death and taxes is that anything is possible. Fair? Well she has been with the company for 2 yrs and has seniority. Do you know how long she has been in the field or the nature of her full experience? When I worked as a social worker for a rehabilitation hospital RN-Nurse Case managers with 2 yr degrees made more than my boss, a Master's Degree prepared social worker with 25 years of experience! It was not fair but she never said anything. In cases where the amount of education & experience exceed that of someone else who is making better pay, I would speak up. In your case, I would politely broach the topic in a conversational manner not one that is confrontational or suggests that you feel you as a "RN" should be paid more simply because you have more education. Maybe you could chat with the LPN and find out more about her experiences and background. If this continues to bother you, hold on to the position long enough to find another job. I was doing some research about salaries of new RNs at a local hospital and the HR manager basically told me companies/agencies are start all RNs regardless of degree (Diploma, ASN/ADN, BSN, entry level MSN (for students w/out BSNs) at the same base pay but that pay goes up based on the responsibilities one is willing to consume. My point is it never hurts to ask why so that you can understand. I hope to hear what you decided! Best wishes always, WOAJ

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Oh, I didn't know that! In that case you absolutely should be paid more than an LPN/LVN!! If you do the work, sacrifice, money and time, you have every right to be compensated fairly for it!! I'm even upset now, 'cause even though I live in a big giant high cost of living state, too, I've been doing this for 5 years, and I make less than $21.00 per hour!!! As for why the M word company does ANYTHING they do, is beyond me. I'm going to just conclude they have their heads in a dark anatomical location. Really, if you're ever bored do an allnurses search for them. O. M. G.:uhoh21::uhoh21::uhoh21:

Wait til you've been doing it for 30 and only get $25 per hour. Seriously.

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FYI, yes, LVN's/LPN's can make as much as an RN. I an an LVN School nurse in California. I have a BA in liberal Arts and 1 more semester in my Master's in Healthcare Administration. I am on salary that equals to $31.00 an hour. Somehow, there is this shameful hierarchy in Nursing. Can't we just respect each other for the gifts that we bring to the profession?

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Don't be negative! There are many reasons that a person with lower certification than you can be paid better than you as the others have pointed out. It also depends on your negotiation skills and success at the time you were hired. Even a relationship such as family, referal by best friends etc can tilt things abit. One way to beat this is to look for another job that pays you better. If your employer wants to retain you she/he will match up the pay. If not then leave. Else be satisfied with what you have and do your job. After all you were fine until the mix up.

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Specializes in med/surg, infection control, ET.

I don't believe the person who posted this question meant to dis the LPN...some replies are turning right mean and sounds as though some may have issues of their own to work out. If all things were equal (experience, years of service, etc) I'm sure the RN would be higher paid, not because she's a "Big RN" but because she spent the extra time in school to be worth a little more. Not to say that the "lowly LPN" isn't an excellent nurse but she chose less school time with the knowledge that she would earn less than an RN.

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There are instances where in SENIOR LPN's are making more than a newly graduate RN. Sometimes the salary is based on experience. My question to you is, did your employer told your hourly rate when you were hired? If yes, then you should get the salary as agreed upon.

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