Talk about cheapskates!

leslie :-D · May 1, 2004

you can always check with the dept. of labor. i believe the dept. through them is called wages and hours. you can go online to get the federal number then they will link you to one of their regional offices. it sounds like you're getting screwed.

suzanne4, RN · May 1, 2004

According to US Labor Laws, if you are required to be there, then they are required to pay you..........................

At this point, you are already accepted to school, get your papers that say you are certified, then wave good-bye.................

:balloons:

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · May 1, 2004

... The first thing they pulled was AFTER we were in class six days, they told us that we didnt' get paid for the first week until 90 days after we got ceritified... A bit underhanded if you ask me.

Agree.

... Then... They said they will be doing mandatory review for 1 1/2 hrs a day every day next week. We are REQUIRED to be there, but will not be paid for review time...

Certainly seems unlawful to me.

Good luck!

jyoung1950 · May 1, 2004

Here is a website you can refer to:

http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/compliance/whd/whdfs31.htm

I would also browse everything you can find about wages, etc. and the law and also find a number to call from this Department and ask them.

Explain everything just like you did here. From what I've read, if you're presence on the job is mandatory, they must pay you.

And your first week's wages? I think that it is against the law with withhold wages from employees. Had they told you up front that you would be unpaid the first week and if you completed the course and stayed and that that was a bonus, well I guess that would be OK, but if they never called the first week a bonus and considered it wages earned, I think they are tredding on fraud.

Good luck and definitely call the Department of Labor.

I have to vent here, because I've just about had it.
The nursing home I work at as a CNA has another goofy rule I just found out about. I went through CNA traning there back in Feb. Now, the first six days was in class. The first thing they pulled was AFTER we were in class six days, they told us that we didnt' get paid for the first week until 90 days after we got ceritified. They do that so people don't get certified there then up and quit, but they could have told us that ahead of time, instead of after we'd been there a week. A bit underhanded if you ask me.
Then, they gave us a memo yesterday saying that our testing will be on Monday, May 10. Okay fine. They said they will be doing mandatory review for 1 1/2 hrs a day every day next week. We are REQUIRED to be there, but will not be paid for review time. WHAT???? I asked the nurse in charge of training how they can require us to be there but not pay us. I told her I don't even think thats legal. She said she didn't know, but to talk to the administrator since its his rule. I told her we make little enough as it is, (around $8.00 an hr.) we work our butts off, and they're already withholding a weeks pay of ours for 6 months. The interest alone would probably pay for our 5 hrs or so of training. I know the administrator makes a nice salary...but they want to nickel and dime the CNAs to death.
Part of me wants to go into his office monday and tell him that he can pay me for my time, or I'm not going. The other part says, just go, get certified then get the hell out of there as soon as I can. Most nursing homes here pay a lot more than this one does. Granted, they may not be as nice of a facility, but I figured if I'm going to be treated like crap, I could at least get paid for it. Since I'm going to nursing school in the fall, I just need to maintain my sanity until then. Anyway, I just wanted to get this off my chest. Thanks.
Tim

Stitchie · May 1, 2004

Withholding wages for any reason can get them into serious hot water with the state. This really burns me up; the PTB are usually taking advantage of those who can least afford it, or those who won't turn them in out of fear.

:rolleyes:

Tim, look up your state's Department of Labor or something like that. In Il they take this v.seriously. And the beautiful part of it is, they (the state people) will go to the admin's office, demand ALL payroll records, basically camp out and make the admin's life a living h#)) You can report them anonymously and have the satisfaction of watching him squirm.

Besides that, he sounds like a creep. Maybe a little bit of state investigation would be just what he needs. Let us know what happens.

IMustBeCrazy · May 1, 2004

I'm not surprised by this at all, I've heard lots of people talk about situations like this.

First of all, call your state department of labor right away. They CANNOT hold pay on you for 90 days nor can they not pay you for mandatory hours. If hours are mandatory, and that means your future employment is contingent upon your attendance, they MUST pay you. The only reason they get away with these kinds of things is because most CNA's aren't the most legally savvy folks in the world, and they know this.

Most LTC orgs get reimbursed FROM THE STATE for the training they have provided you, so there is absolutely no reason whatsoever that you should not be paid. Had you paid for your training at that facility, these monies are mandated to be reimbursed back to you once you have accepted your first CNA position. Lots of facilities play the shell game with these funds all the time with their new CNA's. If this was your situation, call your state agency that deals with the reimbursal of these funds directly and don't take no for an answer.

Even if you had not paid for the training out of pocket, you are considered an hourly employee at that point and deserve to be paid. Let's say at training they somehow managed to slip in a paper for you to sign that waived your training check until after 90 days of employment, or that stated that you weren't an employee for that first week. This is an illegal contract, because you are not able to 'sign away your rights' like that. This is the same reason why most 'no-compete' contracts are null and void, except in some very unusual circumstances.

You should be able to file a complaint with your state labor board regarding this. Once the the LTC facility is served notice by the state, they generally don't have the luxury to mess around unless they enjoy receiving huge fines from the state.

Hope this helps!

Energizer Bunny · May 1, 2004

Sounds like a bunch of baloney!!! The $8.00 an hour is why I didn't take the job I was offered as a CNA...couldn't even pay for childcare with that! Phhhht on your LTC facility for not treating you better...this is why they have such a hard time finding and keeping good people!

renerian, BSN, RN · May 1, 2004

Mandatory = pay.

renerian