Just started with agency now banned from regular hire

[newtress]

What a rude awakening this has turned out to be. I just hired into a locally owned LLC nursing agency that staffs for all the bigger and better well known facilities. Some of which I had previously worked for. I did so because nursing jobs completely dried up in the last 3 months in my city. After hours of in office testing and orientation and finally signing hire paperwork, I get called for a shift at a facility I am quite familiar with. Found out within 10 mins that they lost 3 nurses and needed to get those full times filled quick. I did not know, and it was not stipulated to me that I can not apply for any direct hire staff nurse positions with ANY facility I have worked for with this agency even if it was for 5 minutes on the floor and left. I can not work for any facility/previous staff nurse jobs I have worked for in the past either. And conversely, I can't do an agency shift at a place I previously worked for either. I am now banned from seeking or getting gainful employment when the chance that an opening does occur. Now I'd have to know who they have contracts with, and turn down agency shifts so that in the event that I'm offered a job I can proceed because I didn't do an agency shift there. And I'm not allowed to stay passed the 8 hrs for a shift either. So I was supposed to walk out the door and not do a narc count with the oncoming who was a little late getting in? I was supposed to leave holes in the MAR and not chart on my skilled patients or document some wound care I absolutely had to do. Yes I got in trouble for staying over an hour for making sure my legal obligations were completed before I left and now I'm a problem. I can accept not being paid for the extra time I had to stay, but brow beating me over it? Yeah, I read the employee handbook and "outside employment" policy didn't state I could not apply for regular work elsewhere. It talked about political or volunteer/goverment involvement or if you were out on FMLA or workers comp you also could not work anywhere either. I feel owned. And the only way I could have taken the full time position where I worked last night would be to outright quit the agency immediately and walk back in and finish talking to the DON. I regret hiring into agency!

[lindarn]

The cure for this abuse is to dump the agencies, obtain a business license, obtain malpractice insurance, and go at it as an Independant Contractor. When the agencies can no longer find "indentured servants", to work for them, they will start to respect nurses a little bit more!

JMHO and my NY $0.02.

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN

Somewhere in the PACNW

[tericontrary]

Now I'm not a lawyer, so be sure to verify this, but my understanding is that in my state (California) an agency cannot prevent you from taking a job, even if you've signed a contract that says you wouldn't. As a nurse, you are considered a professional, and to restrict you from working in your profession would be restraint of trade, which is illegal. In the California Business and Professions code, it states:

16600. Except as provided in this chapter, every contract by which

anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or

business of any kind is to that extent void.

This may vary from state to state.

Now, that may not prevent the hiring institution from wanting to hire you, because they may not want to jeopardize their own relationship with the agency.

If I were in your shoes, I would contact a lawyer in your state familiar with labor law, or nursing law.

But I also like the idea of becoming an independent contractor. If you've already got a relationship with a hospital(s) in the region, they would probably be happy to make a deal with you. I knew an ICU nurse once who did that and he did very well. So well, in fact, that he ran into some tax problems, so if you go that route, be sure to get a good accountant!

JMO

Good luck!

[kcmylorn]

The agency I worked for a few years back in 2004-2006, there was a paper (a single piece of paper) "non compete" I think it was called, that restricted/prohibited the nurse from working for a facility that the agency placed nurses in for a certain amount of time after you stopped working for the agency. Each agency I remember was different. Some it was 2,3, and 6 months one agency I heard was 1 year. If the nurse was caught working in a facility that the agency helped staff- the nurse could be sued for a breach of contract along with the facility that hired the nurse- I remember hearing it cost approx $60,000 to buy a nurse out of their agency contract. The agencies I am referencing are the major nurseing/travel agencies. I did however go back staff after I did a 1 year contract ( I did the agency contract in 2004-2005) and went back staff in 2006 but the facility was no longer using agency nurses at all.

[Kyasi]

"What a rude awakening this has turned out to be. I just hired into a locally owned LLC nursing agency that staffs for all the bigger and better well known facilities. Some of which I had previously worked for. I did so because nursing jobs completely dried up in the last 3 months in my city. After hours of in office testing and orientation and finally signing hire paperwork, I get called for a shift at a facility I am quite familiar with. Found out within 10 mins that they lost 3 nurses and needed to get those full times filled quick. I did not know, and it was not stipulated to me that I can not apply for any direct hire staff nurse positions with ANY facility I have worked for with this agency even if it was for 5 minutes on the floor and left. I can not work for any facility/previous staff nurse jobs I have worked for in the past either."

You said that you were quite familiar with the facility that they sent you to that needed 3 full time nurses. Does that mean you had previously worked there? If so, you said one of the agencies rules was that you couldn't work for any facility/previous staff nurse jobs you had worked for in the past either. So it seems that since they sent you there and you have already worked there before, that this would negate this rule. At least it seems so to me. They had you first, not the agency.

There is always a stipulation/clause like this at agencies. They usually have to 'buy' you out or there is a waiting period. My guess is that if you looked through your orientation paperwork you will find you signed something of this sort. At one agency I worked at, it was in small print right on the timesheet that you signed each time you worked. I was hired from an agency once but we just waited the 90 day period they required before I began.

Kyasi

[JeanettePNP, MSN, RN, NP]

I think human resource departments jobs have gotten a whole lot easier these days. they don't seem to want to go through the whole rigamarole of the lengthy interview and hiring process with applicants anymore. Look at how we have to do the app process for nursing these days. All online, no phone calls, no paper resumes, no in person interviews. "Just go to our website" is a sure fire way to not have anything to do with you, like they are being bothered that you even enquired with them. That cuts down a majority of applicants because of the process registering with user ID and passwords, screen after screen all to end up being never looked at or just simply... deleted.

I wonder the same thing... what nurse recruiters are doing these days to earn their keep when they're more focused on keeping applicants OUT than bringing them in. However, they also do the hiring for more specialized jobs like nurse managers etc., which probably require more research, vetting and wooing the right candidate.

[Guest27531]

I wonder the same thing... what nurse recruiters are doing these days to earn their keep when they're more focused on keeping applicants OUT than bringing them in. However, they also do the hiring for more specialized jobs like nurse managers etc., which probably require more research, vetting and wooing the right candidate.

It certainly is frustrating these days not to be able to talk to a "live" person. I have been having that problem myself lately with a particular company. I finally went to a job fair so I could talk to someone and find out what is happening. The person I spoke to was polite and apologetic but explained that they are getting so many applications for each position it takes a long time just to sort through them. She showed me a stack (unbelievably large) of appliations she had received in just 3 hours! So, they basically can "cherry-pick" who they want for a position. I happen to have experience in one of the jobs I applied for but only 1 1/2 years full time experience. They probably have applications for nurses who have more experience and more recent experience than me...so, I'll just have to keep trying.

To the OP,

I'm glad you brought up the issue of agency restrictions. I recently started working for an agency and that was never discussed. Many years ago, when I used agencies for secretarial work they had those restrictions so I'm sure they are there I just never thought about it for nursing. Thank you for mentioning it!

[Kooky Korky, BSN, RN]

Interesting Caliotter3, I also worked for the afore mentioned temp agency many years ago before college, but it was for industrial manufacturing and was for almost 2 yrs! Back then, the pay was reasonable for that kind of work and it was a steady 40 hrs a week and had not one single problem or issue with them. As I mentioned, my mind has been going back to that place where I clocked in, put my parts on a line and did inspection of those parts for 8 hrs and left promply when my shift was up and had a lunch break and scheduled breaks throughout the shift. I miss that so very much and think that's why I have been sick and run down and clinically depressed. That's the me I haven't seen or been since I got into nursing school and post grad and working. I'd really like to take a walk on the normal side.

I had to go into the agency office this afternoon to pick up my first two checks. I should have looked at them while I was in there. Got to the car and opened them. The first one was correct for 8 hrs. The second one for 8 should have been an exact duplicate of the other for straight 8. It wasn't. It was a whole 47 dollars less. What in the shaft shift hell is that I wonder? Stub indicates 8 hrs, but not the same pay.

So what was the answer when you asked them about the check amount?

BTW, get a lawyer and get out of that agency contract if you can get another job.