push back/cancel with no pay

SummerGarden, BSN, MSN, RN · Feb 27, 2011

that's why california nurses have been hit the hardest by the economy.

No, it is not. That is a simple answer to a complicated problem.

TravelinCEN · Feb 28, 2011

Okay.... I'm gonna take one for the team here....

I am going to start a new Union/non-union thread. I don't think that the OP had these replies in mind. Plus, the other thread may be FUN!!

To the OP, always read the handbook before you start or are invested very far. Most employers lie to us about hours off, pay scales, flexibility just to get in the door.

Sounds like you may have been fed a nice bowl of soup only to find a dead worm in the bottom of the bowl.

I'm sorry that this has happened to you.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Feb 28, 2011

In Calif, some unionized hospitals have a no cancellation policy and they cannot call you off, although you may have to float to other units. It's nice because you know that you will always get your 40 hrs/week.

Alot of union hospitals have a no cancel policy for RN's. BUt someone will be canceled.....your secretary's,your aides, your housekeeping,your phlebotomists.......the corporate will cut no matter what.... :crying2:

CapeCodMermaid, RN · Mar 2, 2011

I work in long term care. The charge nurses/managers are on call every 6-8 weeks and get paid a flat rate to be on call whether they get a phone call or do nothing all weekend. If they have to work a shift, they get the flat rate AND get paid for the 8 hours they worked. And we don't have (and don't need) a union.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Mar 2, 2011

i work in long term care. the charge nurses/managers are on call every 6-8 weeks and get paid a flat rate to be on call whether they get a phone call or do nothing all weekend. if they have to work a shift, they get the flat rate and get paid for the 8 hours they worked. are your staff nurses getting call pay? and we don't have (and don't need) a union.

unfortunately, in acute care there is alot of canceling going on........staffing is re-assessed every four hours and is increased and decreased accordingly. union facilities i have aorked have a strict voluntary cancel and call status and yes they are paid. hospital nursing staff are being placed "on call" and are mandated to come into work if needed. i have supervised both union and non union facilities and i can argue pros and cons for each although in the current enviorment........i think we as nurses need protection. there's a lot bad behavior going on out there by the hospitals and administrators. it is my recent experience that the staff/floor nurses placed "on-call" are not getting call pay and they are "mandated" to sit by the phone to be called in to cover admits. esentially just being at their beck and call with no compensation.......of course they are paid when they come in.

it's harsh out there right now......hospitals will do anything to maintain profit margin and will decrease one of their largest expenditures........nurses. :crying2:

gettingbsn2msn, MSN, RN · Mar 2, 2011

I don't know why I think this--however, I believe that it will be worse in the future. My hospital is not making enough money. Most of our pts are medicaid or working class with no insurance.

kcmylorn · Mar 3, 2011

ESME12- We nurses are the hospitals "perceived" largest expenditures. IN reality - the CEO is the largest expenditure- shh don't tell any one. If word gets out, the healthcare industry might have a chance to really cut costs and put medicare fraud loss to shame.

RNforLongTime · Mar 3, 2011

At my facility, they are ALLOWED to put us on call one shift a week and we have to take it. We get $2/hr for on call pay. The last two weeks, I've taken 20 hrs of on-call. Everyone in our hospital was getting put on-call due to low census throughout the facility. I'm an ICU nurse and cannot be flexed off because if we get an admission or two then I'll get called in. I

work with pretty autonomous nurses at night. One of those on-call shifts the RN who was already here got a 2nd patient but since it was a stable overdose patient, she didn't require that I be called in at 2am.

Tushybreeches · Jan 17, 2020

hello everyone

I have been a nurse for 16 years, of that, 6 years has been travel nursing with the same company. I was told yesterday that I do not get call back pay, when the hospital on my scheduled shift places me on call then 2 hours later calls me back in. I just be regular pay. THIS IS A FIRST FOR ME! what the heck??? Corporate America is just taking all of the money and they never do the labor jobs. Plus, I make less than a full time staff members base pay and the agency and hospital are in California which is a union state. What to do? I am like many nurses that want to leave this high stress job because of things like this. AND I have never had time in the ICU to play ****'in cards, I'm lucky if I get to pee or eat lunch, etc, etc!!! I'm over the politics! Monday, when I'm off a few days, I will be looking into starting a new career. I have been looking for a while, so it is time to give it a go!

Thanks everyone for reading my rant ?

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Jan 17, 2020

" It is actually a policy written in the handbook so you can't dispute it". So Why are you trying to dispute it? Their lawyers have the issue spelled out for you.

LPN Retired, LPN · Jan 18, 2020

On 2/27/2011 at 12:22 PM, Blackcat99 said:
When I lived in West Virginia they had a policy where if they called you on your day off you had to come in right away. No excuses were accepted. They called it "mandatory overtime". If you didn't come in it was an automatic write-up. Thank Goodness, one of the nurses told me about it at orientation. I was at that job for 2 years and I did not answer my phone for 2 years either. They would use other people's cell phones to call you in order to try to trick you into answering the phone. Now I am in Florida and I certainly do believe that we need a nurse's union here in Florida. Absolutely!!!!!!

My supervisor demanded from another nurse her phone number. Supervisor said she HAD to give it to her. The nurse said, "no way, you don't pay my phone bill." Supervisor shut her mouth. Same supervisor also told us once, that if a representative from a union,contacted us at home, we were forbidden to talk to them . I was never contacted but I always wondered what would have happened had I talked to them.

Nobody tells me who I can talk to or not talk to in my own home, where i pay the mortgage and the phone bill.

Guest219794 · Jan 18, 2020

On 2/27/2011 at 9:24 AM, sweetface18 said:
Our hospital has a policy where they can call you and tell you that you are "pushed back" until 12. Basically you are at their beck and call for 6 hours of your day, with no pay. They can call you at any given hour until until that 12 and you are expected to come in as soon as possible from that phone call. You can't go anywhere, do anything, because you are still responsible for coming in if they were to call WITH NO PAY. It is actually a policy written in the handbook so you can't dispute it. When asked why we are not getting paid, we are told we are not "on call" we are pushed back and still on the schedule.
My question is, where can I go to find out if this is ethical and within the law? I know it might varies within states, but couldnt find the right source.

These are two very different questions.

While it is a crappy approach, I am not sure it is unethical- They put that policy in writing, and you agree to work under those conditions. We are a commodity in the healthcare business. The people who run the business try to get the best deal they can on any commodity be it supplies, electricity, or nurses.

Legal is another question. Just because it is in a handbook does not make it legal. Labor law varies from state to state. But, unless you are planning on lawyering up and fighting the good fight, I am not sure legality matters. You probably need a job. If you don't like this one, you are free to look for another. In fact, management is counting on this, and the fact that you can't afford to fight something on principle.