No Overtime Pay after Forty Hours

HeartsOpenWide, RN · Aug 14, 2005

I was told that I would not be paid overtime for the "probationary period" (first 3 months)....I thought it was law that, if you work over 40 hours, you get time and a half past 40.
Anyone know?

I am not sure about this, every state is different, I would call the labor board and find out. When I was in high school a friend worked at Arby's fast food. He said that while he was in training that they paid him less than minimum wage.

purplemania, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2005

I would first contact the Human Resources dept to be sure the practice is housewide, not just the effect of your supervisor. Then I would call the labor dept. or go online. Did you sign any kind of contract or agreement regarding a probationary period? We cut that out long ago. Now a new person can only be fired for the same reasons (and documentation!) that an "old" employee can be fired. Easier on everyone if there is a one-rule-fits-all.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2005

Hmm, i dont know what state it is, but you can bet if i didnt have an option to get overtime while on orientation my preceptor will be finishing things up by herself.

78BugRN · Aug 14, 2005

I know that at my facility I'm not permitted to work overtime while I'm in my internship but, that my internship ends before my probationary period does. I can work overtime after my internship is up.

Roseyposey · Aug 15, 2005

In my former job I was a trainer, and trainees were not entitled to overtime pay. If memory serves me right (please double-check this), trainees are entitled to pay, it just doesn't have to be time and a half. I'm not sure if that varies from state-to-state or not. Don't take my word as golden, though, it's been a while. That being said, I never kept a trainee past 40 hours a week. If there was work that had to be accomplished, I did it myself.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 15, 2005

Are you sure they're not saying that you can't do any overtime during your probationary period? A lot of places do that. . .the reason is because a probies pay is charged to a training expense account in the accounting department. This training expense is not part of the budgeted nursing salaries for the unit you work on. As far as the Accounting Department is concerned you are not considered part of the nursing staff yet. This is why your unit manager can allow you to attend all kinds of different orientation classes off the unit, shadow one of the unit nurses, spend part of a day observing in another department, and work one on one with a preceptor or another employee while in training. It gives the manager the flexibility to take a probie who is slower at catching on to the job a chance to have a easier assignment and still have another nurse to cover the patients the probie would normally would have been caring for. During your orientation the manager will be able to schedule a permanent employee in the spot you are currently training for each day and not have both you and the permanent employee be charged to her budgeted salaries. One of the nice things employees notice about having probies around is that the unit seems to be really staffed up. That's because of this training pay. This training account is strictly budgeted for the nursing department and an overtime charge in that account would use up the nursing department's budget for training very quickly. The hospital accountants will later report the cost of training new employees (which you are one of right now) to the board of directors. Nursing managers have a real headache dealing with overtime worked on the units they manage because overtime is usually not budgeted as an allowed expense so they have some 'splaning to do to the boss if overtime shows up on their monthly expense report.

I hope I explained that so it was understandable. It can be a little confusing.

You must be paid overtime, if you work overtime. That is the law. Don't look for any overtime opportunities while you are on probation because of my explanation above.

grannynurse FNP student · Aug 15, 2005

I was told that I would not be paid overtime for the "probationary period" (first 3 months)....I thought it was law that, if you work over 40 hours, you get time and a half past 40.
Anyone know?

Overtime pay is covered by law. Being in a probationary period has no impact on whatever or not you are paid overtime. Failure to be paid can result in financial sanctions against your employer.

Grannynurse :balloons:

ShayRN · Aug 15, 2005

I really hate to tell you all this, but by Federal Law, RN's are not entitled to overtime pay. This was signed into law by Pres. Bush last year. We are considered Professional workers in the Bush administration to the point that overtime pay isn't necessarily paid. It is up to the individual hospital or institution to decide if they are going to pay overtime to RN's. The bright side of this is, he can't be re-elected.

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17n_nurses.htm

William_SRNA · Aug 15, 2005

I really hate to tell you all this, but by Federal Law, RN's are not entitled to overtime pay. This was signed into law by Pres. Bush last year. We are considered Professional workers in the Bush administration to the point that overtime pay isn't necessarily paid. It is up to the individual hospital or institution to decide if they are going to pay overtime to RN's. The bright side of this is, he can't be re-elected.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/fairpay/fs17n_nurses.htm

Show me one hospital that will follow this rule

michelle95 · Aug 15, 2005

The law is supposed to apply to salaried nurses...which anyone taking a salary knows they aren't getting overtime anyway.

The only problem I see is for nurses that have to work mandatory overtime. But, hospitals would be insane to jump on this wagon. With the "shortage" already in swing, nurses would not put up with this and the facilities know this.

jsteine1 · Aug 15, 2005

If Rns are classified by Human Resources as "exempt", they do not receive overtime. If they are classified as "non exempt", they are overtime eligible.

These classifications are constantly mis-applied by even the most sophisticated employers. Exempt definition has undergone numerous change.

Pose the question to HR. Not paying overtime because someone is on 90 day probation is absolutely absurd. In the facility in question, staff RNs are either exempt or they are not.