Law against RN's working >60HR in 7 Days? Is this true?

[PcrossP]

I give the following info not to try and make a person or place looks bad but because laws differ from state to state and Federal vs Private.

I work in a department at a VA Hospital in the State of Georgia.

Over the past several years my coworkers and I have gotten together and worked out a scheduled we all could live with . We did this twice, the first time when we were allowed input into our schedule and it worked for a few years. The next time we did this was when the VA allowed us to work 72 hours and would pay us for 80. The pay was about the same as just working 72 hours because we no longer got a lot of the pay buffs we had prior but we didn't have to work the 8 hour shift and that was nice. Then we had a new manager take over and with a weeks notice we were told we couldn't work more then 60 hours in a 7 day period because it violated some law. We were allowed to "SELF SCHEDULE" and I use this term loosely because what we chose and what we work are not even close. The night shift people complaint a lot because they have to do a lot of what they call "Danglers" where they may be off 2 days and then work 1 night then off again for 2 or 3 days. Having worked nights I can tell you this is not a good thing. We work 6 12's and 1 8 in a 2 week time period. Night shift has schedules where they may work 4 12's in a row and then come in at 2300 on the 5th day to do an 8 hour shift. or on day 1 of 5 they may get off at 0300 doing an 8 then have 4 12s. But we can't work over 60 hours in a 7 day period. Well not unless we sign up for over time or management asks us to work more then 60 hours. So basically I can't chose to work over 60 but if they NEED me to that well, the hell with the supposed law I guess.

Now it seems to me it is either a law to be followed PERIOD or it is not a law. I can't surpass the posted speed limit just because I need to. So while this is a bit for me to vent, can anyone tell me if they have heard of this? I have worked many jobs in Georgia where I did all my 12s in a row. Granted this is the first time I have ever worked 80 in 2 weeks but I'm use to doing 6 days in a row. I would love to hear some feed back on this subject esp re the law. But also from other Nurses in GA esp in the VA System which is its own world. And should anyone want to point the finger at me, the is now what I signed up for when I started. One RN I work with was told she would only work weekends and had a signed contract with HR. The manager of the unit told the nurse that "SHE" hadn't signed or agreed to the contract. I'm not trying to got out of work or do anything immoral. I'm just trying to find some wiggle room in the crazy schedules I've been working and if 7 days straight is a possible option that would help.

Also I have a "Friend" that works in the ER of my hospital and is wondering how many patients nurses in other ERs have to take. He says he has to take 5 or 6 pts and this is independent of their acuity. Last night he says he cared for 3 pts that had to go the ICU. Our ICU nurses only take 2 pts each and here he was with 3 ICU pt's as well as several other admits.

So if you can comment on any of this I do appreciate it. Knowledge is power. I think that nurses give a lot of themselves for their jobs and if it is possible to make what they do more compatible with their life it should be do. And I am tired of having my schedule written by someone that has only ever worked 7am to 3pm but feel they can tell me all about working several 12s in a row or how much easier night shift is and how there is no difference in night shift working a "Dangler" the it is from day shift. Yes, sorry, this is a bit of an emotional issue for me.

[klone, MSN, RN]

My understanding is that an employee can VOLUNTEER to work as many hours as they want. But of course, the hospital must pay you all applicable overtime.

[Not_A_Hat_Person, RN]

Some states have laws limiting how many hours nurses can work.

[Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN]

Now it seems to me it is either a law to be followed PERIOD or it is not a law.[/Quote]

I don't know what your laws are, but this makes sense. We can't obey the law when it works for us and break them when it doesn't. That's not how it works.

[caliotter3]

If you want to verify what the law states about work in your state, then inquire with the labor board. You may even find information on their website that pertains.

[verene, MSN]

You will want to verify your state employment law as well as company policy. While my state has no cap on maximum hours worked in a week (provided all rest/meal breaks are offered - which works out to about a max of 120 work hours in a 7 day period), my employer does cap maximum hours in a 7 day period ( I think at 72 hours, though I have to check policy).

[psu_213, BSN, RN]

Nurses in my health system are only allowed to work 60 hours per week. Not sure if that is a hospital system policy or the law. Personally, I never had to worry about getting that close to that number. I don't know all the repercussions for a nurse that goes over the 60 hour mark, but I do know nurses who picked up overtime, sometimes at the last minute to cover call offs, who were reprimanded for go over 60 hours. In other words, it was the responsibility of the individual nurses to make sure they didn't go over 60 hours.

As for the question about the ER...why did you put "friend" in quotes? Just curious. Anyway, I have had relatively easy days in the ER and some really hard ones. I have had days where I rarely had more than 3 patients and they were all fairly low acuity. I have also had days where I have had multiple ICU pts at once. Some places are going to be better in terms of pt load/acuity, some worse. That's the ups and downs of the ER.

[Ruby Vee, BSN]

Some states have laws limiting how many hours someone can work in a week. Some employers have policies about the issue. And some managers make rules. I have encountered all three.