Medicaid paid company, but company didn't pay me! ADVICE PLEASE!!!

[edwardsrn62]

Ok, so I just graduated nursing school then passed the NCLEX... I got hired over the phone with a "home health agency" although I actually am a private duty nurse doing 8-12 hour shifts. The service is paid for by medicaid. Medicaid pays my company and then the company pays me. I clock in and out using the clients mothers phone (my client is pediatric).

On 2 separate instances (once in August and once in September) the clients phone was unavailable, so as instructed by my supervisors, I called management, with the fathers phone, and they were supposed to clock me out. In BOTH cases the managers never clocked me out and I received a call from the office the following mornings wanting to know why I had not clocked out. I never got paid for these two days. I spoke with the owner of the company numerous times and she insisted they would be on my next paycheck. But paycheck after paycheck came and the hours were never added.

Then, the owner calls me just last week and tells me she will not be paying me for those two days as she had just found out I have been taking a lunch break. I was told by the woman who hired me, the pt's mother and the nurse who has been working for this company that lunch breaks were allowed. There is NOTHING in my contract that says we are not allowed a lunch and I have not even taken a lunch everyday. I might get to take a lunch 2 days out of 5 that I work. I spoke with the medicaid case manager about it and she said the company was paid for all of my days, including the two where the office had to manually enter my departure time the next day. The owner of the company said that the only way she will pay me for the two days is if she goes back from my start day (over 6 months ago) and takes 1 hour lunch out for every day... Which would make me owe her money!!!!

So just to summarize, the company was paid during every lunch I took, and was also paid for the two days where my managers did not clock me out, but I was not paid for the two days because "of the lunches" i have taken. I am no longer taking lunches now that I know that it is not allowed, but I was counting on that money and I feel its not fair that the company was paid for doing nothing while I am being shorted for almost 25 hours of work! I am still a new nurse, this is my first nursing job and I just feel like it isnt right.

They have hired 7 nurses total for this case and I am the only nurse who has stuck with it. The rest of the nurses quit due to pay issues as well, but this has been my first negative experience. I have had several people tell me they are not allowed to just take my pay like that. Does anyone know legally or from any aspect how all this works?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[caliotter3]

BTW, do not feel that because this employer has roped you around that you should not seek another position in hh, either intermittent visits or extended care. Best to stick with extended care cases until you have your sea legs. Do some asking around to make certain that you are not being cheated regarding your hourly wage. Sixteen hour shifts are acceptable as long as the employer pays you appropriate overtime per labor law in your state. If you are to receive "straight time" for the long shift, you normally are requested to sign a waiver by the employer. From personal experience, I would suggest that you do not waive your right to overtime pay. Best of luck.

[edwardsrn62]

BTW, do not feel that because this employer has roped you around that you should not seek another position in hh, either intermittent visits or extended care. Best to stick with extended care cases until you have your sea legs. Do some asking around to make certain that you are not being cheated regarding your hourly wage. Sixteen hour shifts are acceptable as long as the employer pays you appropriate overtime per labor law in your state. If you are to receive "straight time" for the long shift, you normally are requested to sign a waiver by the employer. From personal experience, I would suggest that you do not waiver your right to overtime pay. Best of luck.

Thank you very much... this was very helpful!!

[caliotter3]

I suspect that they may be taking advantage of you wage-wise in regard to your education and credentials. Yes, this is your first nursing job, but that is no reason to offer you CNA or LPN wages. You should not be paid any lower than any other new grad RN. And I have to emphasize that you need to find another employer, if for no other reason, than the fact that the medicaid rep is bringing fraud charges against them. They will do everything in their power to destroy you and at the beginning of your career, you do not need that. Personally, I would resign tomorrow. You need not write a reason on your resignation letter. When you interview for a new job, you can carefully skirt around the issue that you are leaving because of illegal behavior of the employer. A decent employer will not press the issue and will not hold it against you.

[edwardsrn62]

I suspect that they may be taking advantage of you wage-wise in regard to your education and credentials. Yes, this is your first nursing job, but that is no reason to offer you CNA or LPN wages. You should not be paid any lower than any other new grad RN. And I have to emphasize that you need to find another employer, if for no other reason, than the fact that the medicaid rep is bringing fraud charges against them. They will do everything in their power to destroy you and at the beginning of your career, you do not need that. Personally, I would resign tomorrow. You need not write a reason on your resignation letter. When you interview for a new job, you can carefully skirt around the issue that you are leaving because of illegal behavior of the employer. A decent employer will not press the issue and will not hold it against you.

Thank you. Yes I actually had an interview last week on Monday which went great. The interviewer set me up to have a peer interview this past Friday afternoon, which likewise went very well. The nursing supervisor said she would get back in touch and let me know either way the beginning of this week so I'm praying tomorrow I get a call from them. If the peer interview went as well as I feel did, then I have to do a shadow day and hopefully that will be successful and I'll land the job!!! It's on a med surge/oncology unit. Very excited and hopeful about the future... just do not want to ruin it over nothing. Thank you again for your help!

[smartnurse1982]

I never mentioned that in my initial post. I agree with you that new grads may be able to work PDN but as I have learnedthe hard way they need to make sure they are working for a good company, with clear concise information and have a good nursing support system. Did you have any input on anything that I was originally asking?

I worked in both Carolina's and yes,those 2 southern states are very bad to work in PDN.

I hope someone does not think i am "dissing" those states,but there are no clear-cut rules,low pay,and the employers seem to think they can skirt Federal rules.

This is why i love working PDN in NJ and Delaware. They have clear cut rules and do not "skimp" on Federal rules.

[smartnurse1982]

No. How can they track your agency hours unless you are a I-9 with the agency who bills under your Medicaid ID#. Most agency PDN are employees and it's billed as skilled nursing hours using the agency ID# not an individual nurse number for billing purposes. How would Medicaid know which nurse worked which hours? They bill as x hours/units per date of service not SmartNurrse 6a-2p/8 hrs, crank burse LPN 2p-10p/8 hrs.

How is it possible that the OP is able to contact Medicaid in the first place then?

I never had access to any information about payment ever,unless the parents have told me.

I only submit my paperwork and that is it.

Pdn must vary greatly among the states.

Edit..Beachy,you are correct as far as PDN in NJ is concerned.

I went back to and i see that every nurse who works PDN in some states MUST have a Medicaid provider number regardless if they are independent or agency employed to work with Medicaid clients.

Glad i live in NJ now.

[smartnurse1982]

. Sixteen hour shifts are acceptable as long as the employer pays you appropriate overtime per labor law in your state. If you are to receive "straight time" for the long shift, you normally are requested to sign a waiver by the employer.

In SC and many other states,if you do not work over 40 hours in a week(or 80 hours in 2 weeks) you are not entitled to overtime.

However,i know in some states its anything over 8 hours a day.

I used to think Rn's were not entitled to any overtime pay but it was explained in another post to me that the information was incorrect.

[Nibbles1]

I work the NOC shift and I bring snacks such as grapes, pretzels, Fiber One bars. There's carpet in the peds room so I dont bring anything that could be sloshed if I jump up. In homes that have hard wood or tile, I'll bring an emergency can of soup if I get hungry. I literally snack out the entire night. I consider this my break. Even though technically it wouldn't be if I was working elsewhere. I like PDN because its 1:1 I don't have 30 more clients to run after. So I'll take my "not really a break" any day of the week over the nursing home I was working at.

[edwardsrn62]

Ugggh! This is getting so frustrating. I checked out the link you put up and that's exactly what I've been looking find... only for sc instead of nc. The search has been super unsuccessful. I contacted Medicaid and they seem to have no clue what I'm talking about. Thank you though for your help

[edwardsrn62]

How is it possible that the OP is able to contact Medicaid in the first place then?

I never had access to any information about payment ever,unless the parents have told me.

I only submit my paperwork and that is it.

Pdn must vary greatly among the states.

Edit..Beachy,you are correct as far as PDN in NJ is concerned.

I went back to and i see that every nurse who works PDN in some states MUST have a Medicaid provider number regardless if they are independent or agency employed to work with Medicaid clients.

Glad i live in NJ now.

I contacted the Medicaid case worker as she does home visits and we have team meetings every few months so I have met her in person during these times. She gave me her business card and did if I ever had any questions to contact her, which is what I did.

[Alex Egan, LPN, EMT-B]

In all honestly I would cut and run. Whatever effort and money it will take to recoup your lost wages will most likely not be worth it. Depart quietly, and find a new gig. The further you are away from your present employer the better you are.

[SDALPN]

I don't have time to reply to everything at the moment. But you can call your labor board. I found out from my labor board that employers are only required to pay minimum wage, anything more is up to the company but we are only ever guaranteed minimum wage. Luckily many employers don't know this! Just call your labor board...its free and straight from the people that enforce the law. Oh, yeah, and yep they can retaliate and turn you in to the board. You need a lawyer.