Lunch breaks

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in ADON at LTC, Previous PCU, Ortho etc....

Hi everybody, I have a question regarding lunch breaks. I'm an RN currently working PRN in a hospital and full time in a Long term care facility. In long term, I work nights 8 hour shifts from 10-6am. I'm the only Nurse on my unit at night and I have never taken breaks as well as other night shift nurses that work on my unit when I'm off. We have only 3 nurses(sometimes I'm the only RN in the building) and about 120 residents. It seems like clocking out and leaving the facility for 30 min, while leaving 120 residents with 2 nurses is not a very safe/legal idea. Also I like the idea of getting extra 30 minutes to my paycheck.

Recently due to the economy our company, as probably most other ones started desperately trying to reduce all their expenses, sometimes to they point of ridiculousness.

A few days ago we had a meeting with the administration and we were told that everybody had to take 30min breaks now. I asked them how I am supposed to take a break when 2 other nurses will have to share 120 residents, plus the fact that sometimes they both are LPNs. Is it safe for residents? Is it even legal? All they could say to me was "Well you know it is the law that everyone has to take breaks" I tried searching for some federal regulations and it appears that it is not a requirement. I have been working there for almost 3 years without taking breaks and all of sudden "That is the law" I told them that they didn't have to be concerned with me making overtime since I only work about 75-76 hrs without taking 30 min breaks, but they again assured me that it wasn't about overtime, but about laws. I do take breaks in a hospital, but that is completely different environment there. There is plenty of nurses, ratio is not 40 to 1, and instead of 8hrs, you work the entire 12. However even in a hospital I can skip a break and get paid for it. So my question is what laws are the talking about? I suspect it is a complete BS, but want to make sure before starting to try to change that.

Any info would be appreciated as well as your thoughts/opinions?

Victor

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Just because they are telling you to take a break does not mean you have to leave the building.Do they not have a break room?

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Federal laws do not require a meal break, but does state that anything over 30 minutes is uncompensated break time. Your state may have specific laws regarding mandated meal breaks based on the number of hours you work in a shift.

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

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can you leave the building while working as the only RN on shift?

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Specializes in LTC.

Where I work if you are the only RN you cannot leave the building. You punch out and leave the floor but remain available in case an emergency occurs.

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

In our state, actually, if you aren't allowed to leave the building you cannot be deprived of pay for a lunch break. Naturally few people push it because of the fact that they care about the patient. Once on night shift, one of our nurses was literally having a nicotine fit and told the supervisor she was going to clock out and go to the nearest all-night quick stop for some cigarettes. The supervisor then had a fit of her own and threatened to fire her. The nurse, however, knew the law and said that ok, if she had to stay it wasn't a real meal break and she would expect to get paid, which would throw her into overtime. The supervisor had to back down and let her go, although she parked herself in front of the clock to make sure the nurse wasn't gone over 30 minutes. You are either on lunch break or you're not. I don't think I ever once had a real meal break in all my years of practice except for the few months another nurse and I took it upon ourselves to team-nurse and actually covered each other's patients well. Administration put a stop to it on the ground that that they couldn't tell who to blame if they had a gripe about the care, although of course they didn't put it that way.

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Specializes in Developmental Disabilites,.

In my state you must be free of all duties and permitted to leave the premises for it to count as a break. Otherwise you must be compensated for you time and you are allotted a certain amount of time to eat, in an environment that it is safe to consume food.

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Specializes in neuro/ortho med surge 4.
In our state, actually, if you aren't allowed to leave the building you cannot be deprived of pay for a lunch break. Naturally few people push it because of the fact that they care about the patient. Once on night shift, one of our nurses was literally having a nicotine fit and told the supervisor she was going to clock out and go to the nearest all-night quick stop for some cigarettes. The supervisor then had a fit of her own and threatened to fire her. The nurse, however, knew the law and said that ok, if she had to stay it wasn't a real meal break and she would expect to get paid, which would throw her into overtime. The supervisor had to back down and let her go, although she parked herself in front of the clock to make sure the nurse wasn't gone over 30 minutes. You are either on lunch break or you're not. I don't think I ever once had a real meal break in all my years of practice except for the few months another nurse and I took it upon ourselves to team-nurse and actually covered each other's patients well. Administration put a stop to it on the ground that that they couldn't tell who to blame if they had a gripe about the care, although of course they didn't put it that way.

I only know of one nurse that I work with that actually takes a break away from the floor. Everyone else does not get a real meal break.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

I'm the only RN for the unit so I can't leave. We get paid for our meals and there is a break room. I don't think its safe to never take your break. That's how people burn out and make errors.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

In Missouri, Illinois, and Texas (at least all the places I've worked) they only have to let you go eat. You still have to take your phone with you and you still have to answer it and you still get docted like you had a 30 minute break. Mostly because if you wish to clock out 'no meal' you have to go tell the supervisor and she judges weither you 'chose' not to take a break or if you really didn't have time. It's all a load of crap if you ask me because in 3 years of nursing I can count the times on my fingers how many uninterrupted 30 minuted lunch breaks I've had. But I've only gotten to clock out 'no lunch' 4 times.

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Specializes in geriatrics.

Just curious....for the 30 minute break we're referring to here, is this within a 12 hour period? We are entitled to an hour and 40 minutes total in a 12 hour period where I am. Now realistically, we probably only take an hour, but 30 minutes seems like a very short period of time to me.

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Just curious....for the 30 minute break we're referring to here, is this within a 12 hour period? We are entitled to an hour and 40 minutes total in a 12 hour period where I am. Now realistically, we probably only take an hour, but 30 minutes seems like a very short period of time to me.

Please tell me what you state you live in and is your hospital hiring?? lol. We work 6p-630a and are lucky get 15 minutes to eat on our floor in the hospital. They take 30 minutes out for a lunch but VERY rarely are we ever on any break or uninterrupted by our pager and have to stop eating to go take a pt to the bathroom, give pain meds etc. People that work days are more likely to take a full break but I know it doesn't always happen for them either.

I'm jealous....lol

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