payroll Questions

justme01 · Apr 14, 2010

wage and hour division (whd)

(revised july 2009) (pdf)

fact sheet #31: nursing care facilities under the fair labor standards act

this fact sheet provides general information concerning the application of the minimum wage, overtime pay and child labor requirements of the fair labor standards act (flsa) to skilled nursing care facilities, intermediate care facilities, and nursing and personal care facilities. it is designed to provide general information on the requirements of the flsa and to alert employers to certain employment practices that result in flsa violations.

coverage: the flsa covers all nursing care enterprises, public and private, whether operated for profit or not for profit.

minimum wage: flsa covered employers are required to pay all nonexempt employees the federal minimum wage of not less than $7.25 an hour effective july 24, 2009, on their regularly scheduled payday.

overtime: employers must also pay all non-exempt employees a rate of time-and-one-half the regular rate of pay for each hour of overtime worked. nursing care facilities may pay employees overtime after 40 hours in a 7 day workweek or alternatively, use the "8 and 80" system. under the "8 and 80" system, the nursing care facility may pay employees -- with whom they have a prior agreement -- overtime for any hours worked after more than 8 hours in a day and more than 80 hours in a 14-day period.

recordkeeping: employers are required to maintain accurate payroll and time records. time records must be preserved for two years and payroll records must be kept for three years. employers must also record and maintain the dates of birth for employees under age 19.

exemptions: certain employees whose primary duties are managerial, administrative, or professional in nature are exempt from the flsa's minimum wage and overtime pay requirements.

youth employment: the flsa sets a minimum age of 14 for most youth employed in covered non-agricultural employment. fourteen- and 15-year-olds can work for limited periods of time each day (outside school hours) in specified occupations which do not interfere with their schooling, health, or well-being. sixteen- and 17-year-old individuals may work at any time for unlimited hours in all jobs not declared hazardous by the secretary of labor.

common industry problems

non-exempt employees must be compensated for any time during which they perform activities that benefit the employer.

the most common violation in the nursing care industry is the failure of employers to pay for all the ours worked. this uncompensated time most frequently occurs when employers fail to pay for work performed:

before and after a worker's scheduled shift;
during an employee's scheduled meal period; and
while employees are attending staff meetings and compensable training sessions.

minimum wage and overtime pay violations also occur when employers make deductions or demand reimbursement for the cost of required uniforms or equipment.

individuals not otherwise employed by the facility who volunteer - without expectation of pay - to attend to the comfort of nursing home residents in a manner not otherwise provided by the facility are not considered employees under the flsa. however, individuals (including residents) who perform work of any consequential economic benefit to the facility are employees and entitled to flsa minimum wage and overtime.

overtime pay violations often occur when employers:

fail to pay overtime after 8 hours of work in a day for workers (both full time and part time) who are under the "8 and 80" system.
pay overtime after 80 hours worked during a biweekly period rather than after 40 hours in a workweek to employees not under the "8 and 80" system.
fail to combine hours worked in more than one department or at more than one facility when determining the total overtime hours worked.
fail to include in calculating overtime hours the time spent or hours worked while performing on-call assignments.
fail to include shift differential, bonuses or on-call fees in calculating an employee's regular rate.
fail to pay overtime to non-exempt, salaried employees (e.g., clerical staff, cooks, and activities directors).

other pertinent labor laws

where to obtain additional information

for additional information, visit our wage and hour division website: http://www.wagehour.dol.gov and/or call our toll-free information and helpline, available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in your time zone, 1-866-4uswage (1-866-487-9243). this publication is for general information and is not to be considered in the same light as official statements of position contained in the regulations.

CoffeemateCNA · Apr 14, 2010

I get paid on a biweekly basis.

Overtime for me is anything >40 hours/week. I get time and a half.

Holiday pay for me is time and a half. The only shifts that my facility has holiday pay for are Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Labor Day. Nothing else.

I generally get paid 15 minutes for rounds. Our time clock goes "7 minutes before and 7 minutes after." If I clock in at 1:40p to round with the next shift, they will not begin paying me until 1:53p. If I stay late to round or finish up charting, etc., they stop paying me at 10:07p. Needless to say, I no longer come in early or stay late any more than is absolutely necessary. If they are skimpy with their pay, I will be skimpy with my time.

So, what it breaks down to, I usually get paid for 7.5 - 7.75 hours of the minimum 8.25+ that I work (includes rounds; our 15 minutes breaks x2 are also paid). It just depends on who is working in payroll that week. :)

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Apr 14, 2010

Where I work we're not allowed to punch in until 7 minutes before our shift starts (so it doesn't round up to 15 minutes and they don't have to pay us for it), and we're supposed to punch out within 7 minutes of our shift ending. So if someone is late or we just take too long giving report and punch out at 3:15 or something, we don't get paid for it.

And we have to take a 30 minute lunch break. It's mandatory and they are scheduled for certain times.

eveningsky339, LPN · Apr 14, 2010

I get paid on a biweekly basis.
Overtime for me is anything >40 hours/week. I get time and a half.
Holiday pay for me is time and a half. The only shifts that my facility has holiday pay for are Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Labor Day. Nothing else.
I generally get paid 15 minutes for rounds. Our time clock goes "7 minutes before and 7 minutes after." If I clock in at 1:40p to round with the next shift, they will not begin paying me until 1:53p. If I stay late to round or finish up charting, etc., they stop paying me at 10:07p. Needless to say, I no longer come in early or stay late any more than is absolutely necessary. If they are skimpy with their pay, I will be skimpy with my time.
So, what it breaks down to, I usually get paid for 7.5 - 7.75 hours of the minimum 8.25+ that I work (includes rounds; our 15 minutes breaks x2 are also paid). It just depends on who is working in payroll that week. :)

What she said. Except my LTC pays an extra dollar an hour differential for holidays, not time and a half. Which kind of stinks.

We arrive 15 minutes early and punch in for report, and we punch out the instant our shift is supposed to end. Except on day shift. Those guys usually don't punch out until an hour after shift ends, because they are on the floor right up until two and they are the slowest charters known to man. They've been getting yelled at for it for years.

Dorali, BSN, LPN, RN · Apr 14, 2010

We are to show up 15 minutes early to do rounds and I think to cover breaks and lunch. We clock out 8 minutes after but we are supposedly getting paid until 15 after, some kind of courtesy, they say.

The next shift should show up 15 minutes early for rounds, just like you. We were told that if they aren't there by the time your shift ends, 10:00 in your case, they have to take it as-is.

As for lunch, ours is deducted too but I rarely take mine. If I bring my lunch, I will sit down for a few minutes and eat, but I don't take my 30. I'd rather get stuff done and leave on time. There are girls on my shift that take every single minute of every break. No one can say anything if you do. Some even leave and go out to eat. Just do what you want. The situation isn't very fair. Sometimes you're just so slammed that there isn't any time for a break.

The whole thing is complicated, I know. It should work out that you get your 8 hours though.

ijh6890 · Apr 19, 2010

We get paid bi-weekly. Every shift is 8 hours, and that includes a paid 30 minute lunch, and 2 paid 15 minute breaks. Any time after 40 hours is overtime pay (time and a half). There are holiday differentials and if you cover a night shift and you work day shifts there are differentials for that too, and with doubles and weekends. It should cover everything in your employee handbook.

azcna · Apr 19, 2010

When I worked in LTC I came in at 2:45 for report (3-11 shift).

The half hour lunch was unpaid. At first I didn't take it very often, but once I got more experienced I was able to take one every day. You need it.

You get two fifteen minute paid breaks, but most people don't take them.

We left at 11:15 so we would make 8 hrs every day. The CNAs sit in on report at the beginning of report, but they didn't give report at my facility.

We got paid for all major holidays like Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July, New Years Day.

As far as overtime went at my place we had to hit 40 hrs. Full time was only 32 hours though, so you had to work two extra shifts to get overtime pay. Overtime was usually always available, especially on 2nd shift.