Mandatory Overtime

[Rivs]

I just accepted an RN position working for the Office of Mental Health in NY State. One of the things that isn't sitting well with me is the thought of mandatory OT. I asked many questions in regards to how often it happens, RN turn over...etc...and was told that the facility is almost at full staff and that this OT will be minimal. I am just not convinced of this after reading some articles that the union has published online about this topic. What is your thought on mandatory OT?

[Morgan314]

Will you be paid extra for the OT? I work in an outpatient clinic, salary. I average 9.5-12 hrs/day because of the volume of work and accompanying paperwork. My supervisors, who are not nurses or even in the medical field, tell me not to put in extra hours, but if I worked 8 hrs/day, I'd never get caught up.

[mkuhnrn]

Are you scheduled for this overtime or do they tell you that day that you must stay, and are u getting paid extra for the overtime?

[ABC77]

I also work in a state facility where there is mandated overtime. I don't know if I'll be able to stay if it is that bad. The last time I worked it, I worked it after my regular 8 hour shift and went home to sleep for 2 hours and had to come back in for another 8 hours. My resistence ran down and I got sick a day later and had to work that shift feeling nauseaus. I then spent my day off in bed recovering. I wasn't able to get things done at home needless to say. Where else can I work as a new nurse in the state system without this mandated overtime. I'm an older nurse, so I'm not looking to be running around in hospital. I'd rather take the cut in salary. I'm interested in any opionions as I need to stay in my retirement system. I have almost 20 years in it.

[bollweevil]

Will you be paid extra for the OT? I work in an outpatient clinic, salary. I average 9.5-12 hrs/day because of the volume of work and accompanying paperwork. My supervisors, who are not nurses or even in the medical field, tell me not to put in extra hours, but if I worked 8 hrs/day, I'd never get caught up.

Unless you really love it, it sounds like you are being used badly. You're getting paid for 40 hours per week, I guess, but you're working up to 1.5 times that. That's a lot, especially if you aren't even a manager. I hope you get a high enough salary to make up for that. And good benefits.

For the OP, well, I wonder if they will give you your next scheduled shift off to recover. And we can always hope that it doesn't happen more than 1 or 2 times per year. Read the written policy on it and see exactly what it says. If you are sick, they probably can't mandate you, if your doctor gives you an excuse, they might not be able to mandate you, and they might let you work an extra shift of your choice and count that as your mandated shift. Also, how long must you stay to have it count as a mandated OT shift? Can you be forced to stay before your day off? Do read the policy to learn all the details. Of course, in a disaster or severe weather, we all get mandated. Not much we can do about that.

[wonderbee, BSN, RN]

I understand your concerns OP. There is mandatory OT where I'm at too. Our union contract states we can only be mandated once in every so many weeks for a limited number of hours. That doesn't stop management from asking though.

Pay is at OT rates for over 40.