Losing Overtime pay!

[joccz123]

Hi guys, at work when they are short of staff they beg me to do double shifts or come in my days off then in the same week tell me I have to be off on a day I'm supposed to work because they are "low on census" or what ever reason they might have so I will end up losing my overtime is that even right? All those stress will be for nothing. need your insight on this.

[lhflanurseNP, APRN]

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. It is aggravating, if it happens a lot you can see how other people at work handle the calls so it doesn't mess up your schedule.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Happens all of the time. It sucks and it isn't fair.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

You can always stop responding to their requests for double shifts, or whatever. As long as they continue to cover shifts without paying overtime, nothing will change.

[llg, PhD, RN]

It's common ... and while it doesn't feel right ... it's to be expected. Unfortunately, nursing is not a career in which the need for our services is constant and steady. Sometimes, extra help is needed. Sometimes it's not. Sometimes, the "normal" level of staffing provides more coverage than is actually needed.

The only thing you can realistically hope for is a fair system for determining "who goes home" when someone has to go home ... and "who gets called in" if people are being mandated to work extra. If your extra shifts are voluntary and not mandatory, then you have a choice as to whether or not you take them or not. As the previous poster said, as long as people like you continue to volunteer for extra shifts without a guarantee of overtime pay, they will continue handling their needs that way.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

talk to the payroll clerk, but I believe the Dept. of Labor allows the facility to pay you OT for more than 40 hours, so of course the facility tries to keep you under 40 hours. It does not matter how many hours were worked in one shift. Our facility does offer call-back pay and the CNO has been know to make "special deal" for critical personnel in a pinch. Everything is negotiable.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

There's no way I'd be staying 17 hours without time and a half. If you're not being mandated say no. If you are being mandated, check with your state's department of labor on laws on that.

[Fiona59]

I'm with checking with your labour department. If you work 8s then anything after 8 hours is OT. If you work 12's, it's anything after the 12 hour.

I just don't get the census thing. Here they can float you to another unit but they can't send you home.

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

99/100 I say no when called, I just don't like to work extra shifts. If I am tempted, I ask if they are offering any incentive. If they need help badly enough, they will pay extra. Hasn't happened in a long while. Apparently they find folks willing to come in. However, I don't think folks with OT are "forced" off a low census shift if they were scheduled. Its not a huge unit though, so losing hours is a reality during times of LC.

I've said before to those that ask that it may make me sound greedy or that I am not supporting my team... But, I am not running a charity over here. =)

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I'm with checking with your labour department. If you work 8s then anything after 8 hours is OT. If you work 12's, it's anything after the 12 hour.

I just don't get the census thing. Here they can float you to another unit but they can't send you home.

This depends on your individual state or if you work at a Union hospital....for the most part....federal and state labor laws state...you will be paid OT for hours worked over 40 hours in one week if spent in direct care of patients.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/workhours/overtime.htm

[Do-over, ASN, RN]

you will be paid OT for hours worked over 40 hours in one week if spent in direct care of patients.

See, this is what I don't get. I've had people tell me that, but I say if I am performing a service for the hospital or if I am completing mandatory training/education then I am entitled to OT for hours worked over 40 in one week. I don't see anything in the labor laws that say differently.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I'm with checking with your labour department. If you work 8s then anything after 8 hours is OT. If you work 12's, it's anything after the 12 hour.

Actually not true. Or at least not true across the board. We used to have over-shift pay (anything over your 8 or 12 hours that you were scheduled), PLUS overtime (anything over 40 hours per week). The over-shift was taken away by the company in a cost-cutting move. There were no ramifications for that.