Is it legal for them to have me take sick call unpaid?

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in Telehealth, Hospice and Palliative Care.

Hi. Is it legal for my clinic to have me taking sick calls from the nursing staff of 50 between 6 and 8 am, and then make calls to reassign staff appropriately, using my home and cell phone, and not pay me anything? I am hourly.

Thanks for any replies!!!

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I am guessing... NO.

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Sounds to me as if you are performing duties for your employer for which you should be paid wages. You need to check in with your Labor Board.

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Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

Is it in your job description? Are you paid hourly or annually. Are you staff or management? You need to find out what these answers are from your state labor board. What kind of clinic is it if I may ask?

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Specializes in Critical Care/Coronary Care Unit,.

Honey they have you working for free. Staffing assignments and taking sick calls from employee all have to do with your employer. Thus, you should be getting paid for it. You should definitely bring it up to management and if need be..your state labor board. Even the Bible says "a worker deserves his wages."

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Specializes in ED, CTSurg, IVTeam, Oncology.
Hi. Is it legal for my clinic to have me taking sick calls from the nursing staff of 50 between 6 and 8 am, and then make calls to reassign staff appropriately, using my home and cell phone, and not pay me anything? I am hourly.

Thanks for any replies!!!

Bill them accordingly; send them a copy of your phone bill attached with all the calls itemized, along with the demand for daily overtime x 2 hours. I'm sure the practice will stop real quick.

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Specializes in ICU, ED,.
Bill them accordingly; send them a copy of your phone bill attached with all the calls itemized, along with the demand for daily overtime x 2 hours. I'm sure the practice will stop real quick.

But before you do be sure you have a line on another job. Especially if you live in a " right to work/fire" state.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTC/Geriatric.
But before you do be sure you have a line on another job. Especially if you live in a " right to work/fire" state.

Oh, reading stuff like this sure makes me appreciate my union (for all the pros and cons, a pro is I sure don't have to deal with situations like the OP is going through or having to have a new job lined up for voicing my displeasure at being screwed!!)

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Specializes in ICU, ED,.
Oh, reading stuff like this sure makes me appreciate my union (for all the pros and cons, a pro is I sure don't have to deal with situations like the OP is going through or having to have a new job lined up for voicing my displeasure at being screwed!!)

I sure agree with that. Here is SC they won't tell you your fired for advocating unions. But they might just find that they don't need you anymore. In all fairness, my hospital treats employees pretty well. But I still would pick any battles carefully. Telling me I had to work from home for two hours a day, off the clock would definitely be one of them.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

For those two hours each day you should make your hourly wage, with overtime if applicable. You should also be reimbursed for a portion of your phone bill. If they don't like that, then they should give you a company cell phone.

I would bill them for the total hourly time you have spent so far plus a percentage of your phone bill, plus long distance fees if you have any.

They are owing you money, sister!!!

But prepared to either have to go into the workplace to make your calls from now on OR look for another job.

I can almost guarantee you that someone will cry because you have the nerve to ask to be paid for the work you do for them!!!!

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Why don't you just say no if you don't want to do it? That way they could re-assign it to somebody else. Just say you are not available at those hours. Because truthfully, the way I see it, your place of work doesn't really intend to pay you on this. So if you are going to ask them to pay you wages for this, then that might be a big issue and they might start picking on you for the little things that you didn't do or make things hard for you. Going forward just say you cannot do it anymore. I hope that you didn't volunteer to do this for them too.

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Specializes in Telehealth, Hospice and Palliative Care.

Thank you ALL for the great replies. It's just been gnawing at me, and every morning I do it I get more and more cranky. For the poster that asked, it is a 30 plus provider multispecialty clinic. And, unfortunately, this duty is in my job description (I am using the term 'job description' liberally...this is what they told me at my interview I would be doing, but they created the position for me and, to my knowledge, there is no written description yet). However, I did not know that I wouldn't be getting paid.

The call means I can never go to the gym in the morning, and that the phone wakes up my family. Some of the calls are long distance. The person who does the job now (plus a mountain of other stuff) is management, but I wouldn't call myself management...I'm a new grad with 3 months under my belt. I get paid hourly, and not that much.

They're wanting to turn this over to me permanently fairly soon, and I'm somewhat concerned that when I tell them that I don't see my nursing career going this direction, they might get rid of me.

I've been doing this job, plus float nursing (IV's, port draws, protime clinic, etc.) as we've been short this summer, so it hasn't been an issue. But now that things are slowing down I can't in good conscience take their money to train me to do a job that I'm not going to stay in (actually, that I hate.)

I am applying for other things but having the same trouble I had three months ago; not many jobs.

Anyone with additional thought, please post. Thanks!!!

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