Work Schedule Favoritism

[pinoy_guy]

finally discovered why i was often being sent home on call.

our manager plays favorites.

full time employees get 3 12-hour shift per week, then any additional shifts are paid overtime.

on studying our schedules, i discovered that some suck ups get 5 to 6 shifts per week--and they are all labelled as regular shifts, not extra shifts.

i get my standard 3 shifts per week.

problem is, they usually send me home more than the other nurses--i'm using up my ptos just to be able to pay my rent.

what sucks is these suck ups i work with brag about going on vacations in asia and europe.

a coworker asked our manager regarding this disparity, and was told that the extra shifts are being paid straight rates, not overtime rates.

now we all know this is bovine ordure.

payment is being handled by payroll, not our manager. this means the suck ups are being paid overtime, while i'm using up my ptos.

this also means that our manager is lying.

now i don't have any problems with respecting seniority. but when this seniority is not being applied across the board, and when this seniority is at the expense of other employees, then i don't agree with it.

i have asked personnel about this disparity--they said they weren't aware of it, as their software takes a long time to load one employee's schedule--so it would be impossible to cross-check all scheduled personnel's record to see who should be sent home on call.

my question is, who can i approach regarding this issue?

can i file a complaint with the state?

a simple investigation of the pay slips and work record should expose this anomaly, but is this possible?

can this be done anonymously?

with all the shenanigans going on, i wouldn't be surprised if our manager will suddenly find a lot of things to complain about me, once she discovers i complained to the state.

help please.

[prmenrs, RN]

You have been offered some suggestions, and have rejected them all. Getting a 2nd part-time job, and taking DOCUMENTATION to HR seem worthy of additional consideration. The only other thing I have to add is that you find another word besides "suck".

jmho.

[Susan9608]

Something doesn't sound right about this situation.

Maybe it's because we are getting limited information here, or maybe it's because I can't imagine some conspiracy involving *everyone* from the other nurses to the manager to HR - that goes way beyond just favoritism for a few select nurses regarding their salary.

Can you just refuse to go home when they try to send you and say, "No, I went home last time, now it's [insert name here] turn"? If your charge nurse puts up a fuss, I"d insist on calling your manager, then the house supervisor, and then just keep going up the chain until you got to someone who said it's okay for you to stay at work and someone else to go home. The squeaky wheel gets the grease ... nothing will change unless you do something about it.

It certainly doesn't seem fair to pay some people over time and cheat other people out of their salaries and PTO. I would think that even if you can't report them to the state for that, you could make a complaint to people like the better business bureau or some kind of business complaint about their business practices or labor practices.

[pinoy_guy]

you have been offered some suggestions, and have rejected them all. getting a 2nd part-time job, and taking documentation to hr seem worthy of additional consideration.

i have brought documentation to hr.

the person i talked to said it's my manager's decision.

i don't want to post more specific details as the people i've talked to will easily identify me.

and yes, i now realized i'll have to get a 2nd part-time job.

thanks for your input.

[Susan9608]

It seems like you have legitimate grounds to break your contract. Perhaps you should get some legal advice on doing so, so you can get out without penalty and find a better job, rather than just being a martyr and getting a second job to supplement the job you have that should be sufficient.

[pinoy_guy]

something doesn't sound right about this situation.

maybe it's because we are getting limited information here, or maybe it's because i can't imagine some conspiracy involving *everyone* from the other nurses to the manager to hr - that goes way beyond just favoritism for a few select nurses regarding their salary.

i am not giving specifics, but i posted the gist of the situation.

i am not saying it's a conspiracy involving everyone.

personnel said it's the manager's decision.

can you just refuse to go home when they try to send you and say, "no, i went home last time, now it's [insert name here] turn"? if your charge nurse puts up a fuss, i"d insist on calling your manager, then the house supervisor, and then just keep going up the chain until you got to someone who said it's okay for you to stay at work and someone else to go home. the squeaky wheel gets the grease ... nothing will change unless you do something about it.

a coworker tried this, nothing happened.

this happens at start of shift too, a coworker was called up and informed she'll be on call. when she said, have you called off this woman? personnel said so-and-so said it's your turn--even if she was just called off 2 days ago.

a few had done this before, even talked to the house supervisor.

i was shocked to realize this too--i didn't know this happens here.

it certainly doesn't seem fair to pay some people over time and cheat other people out of their salaries and pto. i would think that even if you can't report them to the state for that, you could make a complaint to people like the better business bureau or some kind of business complaint about their business practices or labor practices.

it is not fair.

if you live near my area i can show you the schedules.

i cannot take a vacation because my ptos are being used up.

it's hard to understand because i cannot just leave at this point.

a lot of the people who signed up here, left after a few months, asked me how i can work in such an environment.

i am still bound here.

thanks to everyone who shared useful input.

[barefootlady, ADN, RN]

Something is not right about this post. Even when managers play the favorite game there are laws. You cannot be sent home from your job, not getting the required hours while others are getting overtime on a routine basis. This happened where I was once employed and when several nurses went to HR the practice stopped.

There is more to this story.

[grandee3]

Here's another thing, if your are a full time employee and get benefits, (health ins, ST and LT), you need to work so many hours a month to keep your policy going. I had this happen to me at a hospital I used to work. Several of us were always getting cancelled and HR jumped in and gave us a warning that we needed to do something to get the hours in. At that point I was already looking for a new job and found one, but I heard several people were put on part-time and lost benefits. Just a heads up.

[JennieO]

Do you have a union? About 15 years ago the major union in my city made it illegal for a hospital to send anyone home involutarily. I believe almost all of the hospitals around here do NOT engage in this, but I do remember when they did.

Also, you know the old saying, "it's better to join them than fight them." Become friends with the "pets" and potentially reap the rewards. Nobody ever said politics are not in nursing.

[suzanne4, RN]

The facility is not unionized. That is one of the problems.

He is being petitioned by them so is unable to work at another facility at this time, his documents only permit the one facility in most cases.

Remember that things are very different when you are working here in the US as a foreign nurse many times, rules are changed to fit whatever is happening.

[Susan9608]

He is being petitioned by them so is unable to work at another facility at this time,

What does this mean?

It seems to me that if the original poster has some kind of contract keeping him in the employ of this facility, that they giving him sufficient grounds to break it by not allowing him to fulfill his hours and make a sufficient living. He should really get some legal advice.

There is a website where you can get free legal advice, http://www.freeadvice.com, and where you could post more details, too, without worrying about being "outed." Because as it is, to a lot of us I suspect, this situation doesn't make sense, and is starting to seem like the original poster is just venting and doesn't really want a way to solve the problem.

[november17, ASN, RN]

this is my problem--i cannot quit here at this time.

why not? what are you, an indentured servant?? you owe money for a tuition/sign on bonus? if so, stick it out and quit on the day that stuff expires.

man up. if it sucks so much find somewhere else to work.

sorry the hr department is slow in the head but i'll tell you that about 99% of hr departments are completely useless. taking this issue to hr is probably a waste of time in the first place.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Why not? What are you, an indentured servant?? You owe money for a tuition/sign on bonus? if so, stick it out and quit on the day that stuff expires.

Man up. If it sucks so much find somewhere else to work.

Sorry the HR department is slow in the head but I'll tell you that about 99% of HR departments are completely useless. Taking this issue to HR is probably a waste of time in the first place.

If the person is a foreign nurse things are different. They may be waiting for processing of green card and if they move to another hospital they will have to start the process all over again which at the moment would mean return home as since Oct 06 there are no visas with many waiting for years outside the US whilst processed. If they have the green card there will normally be a high cancellation fee and other penalties which they sign for a the beginning of the process, this may mean the member can not afford to pay back the cancellation fee which in some cases are over $20,000 although does vary