Urgent question

[Name9335]

Hello All, I am hoping that this does not border on legal advice.... I am currently working in a nursing home in Wisconsin. Currently on day shift right this minute. I was told at one point that our facility is not a mandated stay facility. We currently have a call in for PM shift tonight. Me and the two other nurses can't stay. I have called all of our nurses and med techs and am getting either a "no" or a voicemail. We are being told by management that one of us has to stay if no one can come in. Tonight is one med tech and a nurse. Management will not come in to cover. Do we have any recourse with this issue?

[Chrispy11, ASN, RN]

Mandated overtime is, unfortunately, part of the culture of nursing in nursing homes. Especially when nursing homes work with such short staff.

Yep. True. When I was an aide, we had someone habitually call out for the overnight. I was in school at the time and other aides had certain responsibilities on certain days. We listed the days we'd be available to cover. Went over it quarterly. Nurses did the same. A lot of times I would barely get to bed after working 3-11 and be called in for 7-3. I sometimes went in, sometimes I did not pick up the phone. We all had a copy of the schedule and more often than not it was the same people calling out. While I realize that not every shift is convenient for everyone, that's the nature of the job. Sorry but this is a normal expectation. i only once saw management work the floor and it was during a day shift. Evenings maybe for a few hours. Overnight never. My old place paid time and a half for anything over 8 hours. It's the way of assisted living and nursing facilities. It might happen less at a hospital but you will be expected to stay. How long depends on the shift.

I don't think it's worth resigning immediately over. Find something and give notice. I think this is a problem you're going to find no matter where you work.

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

I think this is a problem you're going to find no matter where you work.

No it's not.

[KeepinitrealCCRN]

I have never run into this problem but I have volunteered to stay if the next shift is short staffed. In my state you cannot work more than 16 hours straight so if I worked 7a-7p I could stay until 11p. I would also look for a new job. Best of luck.

[CharleeFoxtrot, BSN, RN]

Question for you guys responding -

Hypothetically, what if the next relief nurse doesn't show up. What does a nurse do then after working 20-24+ hours?

Just curious!

Theoretically, the unit managers actually show up for day shift so someone will cover...in theory.

[anewsns]

That's the problem.... there is really no one capable of taking the hall. It would be one nurse and one nurse tech tonight if I left which really can't work. Management is refusing to come in and take the hall. No other nurses/techs will come in either. It is definatly becoming a more and more common issue. I have an application into a local hospital and will hopefully hear something this next week. Even that is a LONG story.... Just feeling really frustrated and completely stuck

Like someone said, a lot of us have been there unfortunately. My long term care facility was the exact same way, which is really unfortunate for the residents. Once my administrator said that we would be fired if we complained about staffing we would be fired on the spot!!! And we were dreadfully understaffed most of the time. I probably could thrown them under the bus a few times honestly. I don't like to rock the boat though. I love elderly folks and I just hate the system of long term care in this country. It's bad for nurses and morale and most importantly, residents. The hospital comes with its own set of problems but they are "better" more acceptable problems IMHO. Also, I really don't think this post is too revealing, it should be fine, but contact admin to get rid of it if it helps you sleep at night. Praying you get the new job !

[Name9335, BSN, RN]

Thanks everyone. Not sure why I stopped reciieving emails with replies. I'm just going to take it a day at a time. I do have an application submitted at the moment. I need to be able to eventually leave this facility on good terms. I'll just keep biding my time.

[CrunchRN, ADN, RN]

They should have hired registry nurses or management should have come in. Really poor management. I am sorry you got left in this situation.

[ruby_jane, BSN, RN]

For the next time - can you file for Safe Harbor? If the assignment is unsafe, there's federal (I think it's federal) paperwork that allows you to register a protest, which will likely shield your license although it may come with other unpleasant things as well, like your management telling you you don't know how to prioritize. Best of luck. I'm sitting in my school clinic feeling immensely grateful right now.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Ask?

OP - look up labor law in Wisconsin. They likely are REQUIRED to give you OT.

I live in WI and sadly no, they are not required to pay you overtime if you are mandated. The only time OT is legally required is if the nurse works more than 40 hours in that payroll week so unless said mandate results in passing that 40 hour mark OT might not be paid. Some companies/facilities will pay OT for mandated shifts, some don't. It's a company policy thing, not a legal requirement.

[kbrn2002, ADN, RN]

Question for you guys responding -

Hypothetically, what if the next relief nurse doesn't show up. What does a nurse do then after working 20-24+ hours?

Just curious!

That too probably depends on the state's labor laws. In WI while the employer is not required to pay OT until after 40 hours in a week an employee also can't work more than 16 hours in a day. We've run into this several times where I work when every nurse on the schedule is already working a double and a nurse from the next shift calls in. At that point management has no choice but to cover the shift if a replacement can't be found. This has resulted in management working the floor whether they like it or not.

[Nurse SMS, MSN, RN]

Been a nurse 8 years. Never once been mandated to stay. So yes, there are places out there where that never, ever happens.

[DowntheRiver]

For the next time - can you file for Safe Harbor? If the assignment is unsafe, there's federal (I think it's federal) paperwork that allows you to register a protest, which will likely shield your license although it may come with other unpleasant things as well, like your management telling you you don't know how to prioritize. Best of luck. I'm sitting in my school clinic feeling immensely grateful right now.

From my understanding Safe Harbor only exists in Texas.