Overtime...What's fair?

[dzadzey, MSN, RN]

At the hospital I work at, nurses and techs only receive overtime for any hours over forty hours worked in a week. I have beefed to HR that this policy is unfair to part-time staff, contingent staff, and even full time staff who for one reason or another don't get forty hours per week.

It is my contention that staff should be paid overtime for any hours worked over their daily scheduled hours...period. And that is how it used to be at my facility. In all fairness that IS how it should be, but HR has remained mute on the issue.

Any thoughts on the matter?

[llg, PhD, RN]

I've never worked for a facility that paid overtime for anything other than time worked over 40 hours in a week -- or sometimes 80 in a pay period. I've heard of a few that used the 8 and 80 rule (hours over 8 per day or 80 in a pay period), but they are few and far between. I've never heard of a place that did it the way you describe of paying it for any extra hours worked on a given day.

Frankly, it doesn't make sense for the employer to pay for any time over the scheduled hours in a day. It would be too expensive. The law says that they only need to pay overtime for hours over 40 per week, and that is what most employers do.

[TazziRN, RN]

Both facilities I've worked at, as well as the HH agency I'm at now, pay overtime for anything over the scheduled shift for both part and full timers. If I'm scheduled for 8 and I work 9, I get OT.

[azor]

i dont even know that overtime is any hours above 40hrs.i tot its anything above like i am supposed to work 36 hrs so,does it mean that if i pick extra one day that they'll subtract some hours and add it to my scheduled 36 hrs and pay me overtime for the remaining hours.Wow,thats ridiculous if i gor it right.

[agent66]

In our contract our part timers get overtime for anything over 6 twelve hour shifts and an 8 hour shift, because then they are considered to be into "full time" hours. However our last contract negotiated that any shifts booked ahead of time or last minute on a weekend that was not our usual weekend to work was to be paid out as overtime. This is great because it not only pays us for doing the extra weekends but also encourages the managers to book people for their entire weekend when it is their weekend scheduled to work. A lot of the girls would work their friday night then take themselves out of availability as they were not obligated to work them after the schedule was actually posted. This left suckers like myself who like 5 or 6 shifts a pay as part-time to be available for everything and anything just to get the shifts, which were usually on the weekends. So now when i do an extra sat night, they pay me double time even if i have only 3 shifts in the 2 week pay period. Is a lovely clause.

[bill4745, RN]

I believe federal law is 40 in a week, although employers with 24h coverage may use 80hours in two weeks as the cutoff for OT. Anything better than that is employer courtesy.

[justme1972]

At the hospital I work at, nurses and techs only receive overtime for any hours over forty hours worked in a week. I have beefed to HR that this policy is unfair to part-time staff, contingent staff, and even full time staff who for one reason or another don't get forty hours per week.

It is my contention that staff should be paid overtime for any hours worked over their daily scheduled hours...period. And that is how it used to be at my facility. In all fairness that IS how it should be, but HR has remained mute on the issue.

Any thoughts on the matter?

Sorry, I disagree with you, and the US Department of Labor does too.

Part-time is just that, part-time. I have talked to very few people that have "set" part-time hours that work in hospitals. It's just a part of the working environment that you might not always get out on time...and that isn't going to change anywhere you work for the rest of your life.

It's also a business decision that keeps you employed. Payroll is the #1 controllable expense in any business, and if they have a choice between getting you to stay for regular wage, or paying a full-timer overtime, they are going to ask you every time.

What happens when they blow all their payroll on overtime? They start making cuts, and you could find yourself out of a job...that's the cold hard facts.

If a facility is offering something, like what TazziRN gets if she works over a shift, that is most-likely a hospital policy and precious few states have laws in excess of over 8 hours per day is considered OT.

[RNGrammie]

where i work, any hours over 8 are considered overtime for nurses.

[BookwormRN]

Gee, I feel lucky! At my facility, any Nurse (full or part-time) who stays beyond their scheduled shift gets paid OT.

[Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN]

Hmmm. Anything that we work over our scheduled time is time and a half, regardless of whether its 20hrs or 40 hrs a week. If they are really hard pressed, theyll offer a 100 dollar bonus too. ~Ivanna

[casi, ASN, RN]

I work in two different facilities and both use the 8/80 system. Anything over 8 hours a shift or 80 hours for a two week payperiod is overtime. I honestly don't think I would work a facility that didn't do this. It just seems tacky to expect someone to stay past shift, especially in a facility that mandates people to stay, and not give them any sort of incentive.

[Midwest4me]

What happens when they blow all their payroll on overtime? They start making cuts, and you could find yourself out of a job...that's the cold hard facts./quote]

Interesting thread! A relative by marriage(not a nurse) regularly works 60 hours a week for a measley $2000/mo gross and does NOT receive any overtime pay. Due to a past criminal history, he's afraid to ask about it for fear of being replaced....and not being able to find another job. I understand his fear but I feel that he's being taken advantage of.