pregnant long hours

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I am a nurse working in a busy department. With not enough staff leaving no choice to taking on calls a lot and sometimes working more than 12 hours and worst 16 hours. Often on call for 24 hours. Not sure regarding our policy for our hours of work when pregnant. I don't know what to do, need the job right now. Our manager don't care at all about our working hours. What can i do for this situation. Hope you can help me?

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I have no idea what state (or even country?) you're in, but I took medical leave pretty early into my pregnancy and was paid a fair percentage of my normal wages by the state along with PTO from my employer. It would have been a lovely vacation if I hadn't been sick, tired, nauseous and fat.

If you have a human resources department, you might want to check with them for advice about your issue(s).

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thank you for the reply!

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Specializes in PACU.

You also need to look at your labor laws... I found this...

"There are at least 16 states with restrictions on mandatory overtime: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, and West Virginia. These restrictions range from limiting the number of work-hours an employer can require to prohibiting the practice of mandatory overtime in certain occupations. Some states also prohibit the use of mandatory overtime as a means to overcome staffing problems.Union contracts, and other types of employment contracts, may also restrict the amount of overtime an employer can demand. Violation of these agreements is considered a breach of contract, and can open the employer to a civil suit.

What If I Refuse to Work the Additional Time?

An employee that refuses to work overtime when requested to do so will likely be subject to discipline. Refusal to work overtime may even result in termination. However, if some aspect of the required overtime is illegal – if the mandatory overtime violates a contract, creates a safety or health hazard, or is not compensated in accordance with state and federal law – the overtime may be challenged."

- See more at: Forced Overtime and Mandatory Overtime | LegalMatch Law Library

There is also the possibility of having your OB right orders that restrict your hours/type of work you can do (light duty) if there is a risk to you or your baby's health. An employer has to make an attempt to accommodate light duty if they have work that meets their needs.. but they don't have to create a position. So it may put you on FMLA sooner then you'd like.

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