per diems

I have never paid attention to "labor laws" but I have never worked where management could or would cancel regular staff and have per diem work. You need to check out your local, state, or federal workers rights, or your employment contract if you are the regular nurse getting canceled! Make sure you have all the facts, it makes no sense legally or ethically!

I work per diem now and I get no special or preferential treatment. I was regular staff and just decreased my status a couple months ago, but even so, other nurses who are per diem and have always been are treated the same as all other staff. We do our schedule on an online program, but the manager makes the final decision which may involve some changes to what you've chosen. The manager just will not change the shifts of per diem staff without asking first, so we do get true control over our schedules, but thats part of the point of being per diem anyway.

Oh and we are the first people put on call or cancelled for low census and the first to be floated if the need arises.

Fairly recent change in my workplace (hospital). OverTime is the first to be floated or called off if not needed; perdiems floated (if oriented to the particular unit) or called off before staff on regular time.

Lots less people signing up for OT....

At my workplace, per diem nurses can sign up for any shift.

Of course, if the nurse is not needed, per diem and OT staff are the first ones floated or called off.

As far as preference is concerned, we use the same computer staffing program as the full time staff. If a shift is listed as filled, it is not available.

Similarly we can pick our shift, are the first one's on call or low censused or to float where I'm at, but I find we are also the first one's to get OT because of our flexibility. Crazy since paying me OT actually costs more as my base pay is higher but true. Also, since I float first, I was actually oriented to all the different units so where full timers on med-surg may have been low censused I can pick up in ER, OB, Ortho, etc. and get more hours. They actually prefer to do that because I'm a trained body instead of an uncomfortable wall flower outside my unit. Frankly, I'm a body so no one cares if I get OT. They are just happy to have someone who'll do whatever, where ever, whenever that isn't hung up on what policy dictates as far as staffing. I always say thank you for thinking of me and calling me while doing my job without complaint and I never go without work as opposed to our full timers who are now taking mandatory low census to survive this economy. They'd rather avoid dealing with the complaints that come with people that are forced outside their box and thus present a greater liability for them.