I was hired at my mother's work through connections as a RN. It is a subacute/rehab facility. During the "interview", I was not asked any nursing interview questions and was told about what the Director of Nursing was looking for, how she feels about hiring new grads, how new grads leave after a few months costing her time & investment, the recent creation of a nursing contract this January, her anecdote of how much she paid to breech her contract, and to sign the contract and the rest of the papers. I was not told what the penalty would be if I broke it, nor does it say what the penalty is on the contract.
All the contract says is: "[Header: the institution name, motto] [Title] CONTRACT AGREEMENT [body] I, [KitKat, RN], agree to sign up for a two-year contract with the [institution] as a Full-time Registred Nurse. [New body] This letter will serve as a binding agreement that I fully understand that I will be an employee at the "institution" for at least 2 years, unless I am subject for termination. [My signature] [DON's signature] [bLANK administrator signature because no person was present] and a [bLANK witness signature because there was no witness present either]"
I am displeased because I do not feel I was given quality training during my orientation. Also, out of my 3 weeks of orientation I was told during the interview that I will only be paid for 5 days, so the rest of orientation for up to 1 month of orientation there is no pay. The DON asked for personal recommendations of other RNs I know, so I recommended my classmate who is about in her mid-50s and she discriminated her age and told me not to recommend "people older than [her]" because she might not be able to do all the kinds of work needed in this facility.
As each day passes that I work here, I begin to feel more and more disloyal to this company. I wish that I did not feel intimidated to sign the contract, and wished that I asked questions to clarify all the details of this contract. I've never been in such a predicament before or known someone who has been. I was also told by a friend that a contract should be notarized and that at the signing of a contract, I should be given "adequate consideration" providing the prospective employee with something of adequate value in order for the contract to be enforced e.g. specialized training or a bonus, but I was not given anything. This is a subacute/rehab facility that does not provide any special training in a critical or special unit which I think are usually found in hospitals.
I was accepted into a bachelors of nursing program and I believe that I will be able to be considered for hospitals and do not plan of staying here for 2 years, but to gain experience for at most 1 year. I would like to find out if this contract is defunct which will allow me to leave whenever I please without having to pay out a "breech of contract" penalty fee.
It depends on what state you are in and the contract laws in that state. You need to have an attorney look at the contract.
In every job I have had as a nurse when presented with an offer or contract i simply say " I'll have to have my attorney look at this and will get back to you within X days." I happen to have a contract attorney in my family which helps. An attorney will be able to tell you if a contract is enforceable.
Hppy
You actually SAY to a new employer that you would have an attorney to look it over first?
Doing it is one thing, most nurses don't have the $250 an hour it takes to pay one, but actually saying that?
However, I'll be honest, if an employee was arrogant enough to make that kind of statement, that offer would be revoked before she got down to her car.
OP, I didn't find anywhere that you mentioned whether or not you clocked in and out or charted anything on a patient during the weeks before they said you actually started and they paid you for the 5 days.
If you clocked in or out on any of these days or initialed a time sheet, I believe the labor board could ask to see this as proof you were there. If you documented in a chart, that's also proof you were working unless your facility allows random, licensed strangers to come in off the street and access and chart on patients. If so, then they have a HIPAA violation they can be fined for as well. Your unpaid weeks might be cheaper to pay you for than the fine for a HIPAA breach. Just sayin' 😉
Hello all, I appreciate all of your views.. it is enlightening & gives me a greater perspective on how to approach this dilemma. I just contacted my local DOL- Wage & Hour Division & was told to simply file a complaint to start an investigation.
What's internally conflicting is that I have spoken to senior nurses (LPNs and RNs) working with me who are very well aware of the illegal & unfair actions our employer is committing but are being ignorant of the matter, brushing it under the carpet, because they don't want to lose their jobs. I clearly understand their basis for fear of losing their jobs perhaps because they are most likely LPNs and associate degree RNs, or for other reasons, whatsoever.
I also understand that this facility has a budget, funded by Medicare and whatever else, and it's not that much.. not enough to compensate staff & the RNs what we really deserve despite the hours worked for orientation and after end of shift hours. I would hope that if my facility could afford to pay us for all considered work-hours that they would. But I'm trying to see it from their side that maybe they just can't afford to due to lack of funding, and have to find ways to cut costs just to stay afloat & not go bankrupt.
Although I am a youngn', at 24 years old, who knows that better opportunities await me, I am very well aware that working in the Tri-state area (specifically Northern NJ), my likelikhood of getting a "better job" here e.g. hospitals, would be difficult without having enough experience even with a BSN.
I will be matriculating in Penn State Online this Fall, but if I quit to stand up for my rights, receive the wages I deserved from orientation & OT (after end of shift hours worked but not compensated) with less than 6 months of experience, I don't know how much of a good move that would be since I've heard hospitals around my area would consider at least 1 year of experience.
I'm internally conflicted though, thinking to sacrifice this wage & labor issue for that 1 year experience & then leave with the prospect of not having to pay a penalty due to the ambiguity & lack of terms & conditions stated in the 2 year contract to a "better job" that will consider me a candidate for hire OR to leave with less than 1 year experience and risk being just as every other new grad (ADN or BSN) who doesn't have experience and being stuck in that pool who are waiting for someone to call for an interview.
Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM
1,486 Posts
You actually SAY to a new employer that you would have an attorney to look it over first?
Doing it is one thing, most nurses don't have the $250 an hour it takes to pay one, but actually saying that?
However, I'll be honest, if an employee was arrogant enough to make that kind of statement, that offer would be revoked before she got down to her car.