How often do you use the "cancel meal deduction" option before clocking out?
During our employee orientation, the HR rep talked to us specifically about taking advantage of this. She said: "even if someone asks you a question while you are on your break, cancel your meal deduction-because your break was interrupted."
There's probably 1/5 or 1/6 shifts that I actually have time to take a 30 minute break. The rest, like most of us, I just work straight through, thirsty and starved with a full bladder.
Are you recouping with the "cancel meal deduction"?
Does your employer even offer that as an option?
I am glad that mine does- I cancel my meal deduction at least once a week. I try to use it sparingly- if I eat an "entree" at the desk, I consider that "time for a meal" and do not cancel.
I am just wary of if/when they will try to say that I am using it too often...
Specializes in Psych, Addictions, SOL (Student of Life).
Most of the nurses I work with don't have the balls to do it. They work through their lunch breaks, day in and day out, without compensation.
I am baffled that labor laws do not apply to the nursing profession.
Labor laws do apply especially in California - If you don't get your break and are an hourly employee you must be paid 1 1/2 your hourly rate for the 30 minute break you did not get. My employer tries to get us to submit written "False" timecard corrections if we don't take a break. I refuse to do this and have said so from my first day of employment. I get paid for the time I work .
I clock out "cancel meal deduct" every time I don't get a lunch break. I work in the OR - it's pretty clear cut whether we're in staffing or at a break/lunch. I don't go back during my lunch - unless it's an emergency situation. Most times I'm on call and called in I have to cancel meal deduct. Sometimes I make it 10+ hours without a break at all - depends on the patient and situation. We don't have to have "management approval" to hit the code when we clock out - they review it, but they rarely change it...they sometimes pull up the OR record for the assignment(s) you had that day and look at the staff times screen/circumstances around the case - to see what could be improved. But often, nothing can be done to change it.
When I worked the floor? I was only "approved" to cancel meal deduct once...when I was mandated 4 hours over to 16 hours for that shift. I knew I was going to get screwed into staying, I started on 7a assessments/vitals/8am meds while everyone else was in report...and I had planned to go to second lunch at 0830. Which would have worked fine had we not rapid responsed a patient belonging to the LPN on days, and had the rapid response call not turned into a code and subsequent transport to ICU by way of the CT scanner - we had to have an RN go with the patient (from our unit, plus the rapid response nurse) for transport to CT and then to ICU. I also got suckered into doing the RN documentation with that whole situation - because I was "ahead" and my coworkers "needed to catch up". Nevermind that the charge didn't have patients...and was "fine" babysitting my patients for an hour since nothing needed done...
When I worked the floor? I was only "approved" to cancel meal deduct once...when I was mandated 4 hours over to 16 hours for that shift
I'm pretty sure that failure to approve it would land them in some pretty hor H2O if the facility had been reported. I'm on my phone so not extremely convenient, but I know from posting on other threads like this that the DOL has a section specifically mentioning hourly paid nurses, saying that they must be paid if situations prevent a full, uninterrupted meal break. I think the example was LTC nurse is only nurse on floor so has to leave break to attend to emergency. It was interrupted, so it wasn't a break. They also mentioned nurses staying over to complete required documentation: it must be paid.
At my last facility, our 30 min lunch break was automatically deducted from our pay. We had the option of filling out a "no lunch" form if we were unable to get a break but few employees took advantage of it. There was an unspoken understanding that making a habit of officially not taking a lunch would result in disciplinary action for "poor time management". Like most of my peers, I chose to work for free rather than fight a battle that I felt I couldn't win.
This is an issue I feel strongly about but I feel quite powerless. What's the best way to handle it?
I always punch "no lunch" if I don't get my break. I still don't think it's right to not get a break even though I am compensated for it. Most nurses I work with do not punch "no lunch" because they are scared of getting in trouble for it. So many times I have told my charge nurse I have not gotten a lunch break yet as she assigns me an admission.
Has anyone ever reported their employer to their state's department of labor? I've looked into it but it doesn't look like you can do it anonymously so I've held back.
I can use "No Lunch" when I punch out. If I badge out, then it goes through automatically. If I have to put it in manually, then the secretary has to approve it. Usually it goes through. I've never been talked to about punching out "No LUnch".
I generally don't take a meal break, and I freely clock out "no lunch". I don't want my cubby-buddy (the nurse directly across the hall from me) to be saddled with an additional pair of critical patients during the 30 minutes I'm taking care of business. More importantly, I wouldn't want to be saddled with two extra patients in a vice versa situation. Fortunately, we are able to take hydration and dehydration breaks as needed.
Do you consider a lunch break to be time off the unit? Or just an uninterrupted 30 minutes at a desk? There is usually time for me to eat at the nurse's station, but I'm relieved to leave the floor less than half the time. I don't consider it a break if I can't do what I want during that time.
Do you consider a lunch break to be time off the unit? Or just an uninterrupted 30 minutes at a desk? There is usually time for me to eat at the nurse's station, but I'm relieved to leave the floor less than half the time. I don't consider it a break if I can't do what I want during that time.
I guess I need to ask the boss that question too.
Our policy is no foods or outside beverages are allowed into our unit. It's for infection control purposes. So yes, a break must be off of the unit.
This is an issue I feel strongly about but I feel quite powerless. What's the best way to handle it?
I always punch "no lunch" if I don't get my break. I still don't think it's right to not get a break even though I am compensated for it. Most nurses I work with do not punch "no lunch" because they are scared of getting in trouble for it. So many times I have told my charge nurse I have not gotten a lunch break yet as she assigns me an admission.
Has anyone ever reported their employer to their state's department of labor? I've looked into it but it doesn't look like you can do it anonymously so I've held back.
Wow, there is alot of good information here. Yes, they are required by federal law to give you a 30 min lunch break uninterrupted. That goes for any worker in the USA, not just nursing. It is alot easier in other occupations, such as manufacturing, since you can shut down the line, and everyone goes to lunch. We can't, so allowances had to be made. The laws regarding nursing state that if you cannot reasonably expect the nurse will get 30 min uninterrupted, you have to still pay them for the 30 min. The example above in a previous post is a good example with the LTC nurse. Even if she doesn't have an emergency, there is no one to relieve her. Another example I know of deals with a hospital I worked for 10 years ago. The facility has 560 beds, so plenty of staff to take over while someone goes on break. Problem was when the nurses went on break, they took their ward phone with them, you know, in case they were needed. Another problem. The ward clerk would still send phone calls to the nurse's phone. Didn't happen all the time, but set up the case for reasonable expectation. This goes on for years, and is infrequent enough the nurses don't think anything about it. Wage and Hour come in on some complaint not related to the phones, and they notice a nurse on the phone in the cafeteria. They start investigating the staff about it. Then BOOM! The hospital is required to pay all past and present employees for their mealtimes for the past 24 months, and for every incident W&H could prove a nurse had a phone on them during their break was a $10,000 fine. The hospital negotiated with them for a reduced fine, but I believe it was still over 3.5 million dollars. Yes, you may get talked to if administration thinks you're taking advantage of this, but not until they are sure it is not a problem on their end. That is why some facilities "require " approval. They are ensuring that someone in administration can look at it, and come up with a solution. If they don't, BOOM. As a side note, 10 nurses lost their jobs BECAUSE they didn't report their shifts as no lunch (the hospital stating that it was the nurse's responsibility to mark the breaks interrupted by calls as no lunch, and that the phones should have been left on the unit).
we all know it, many days without meal or bathroom breaks, double ratio of patients... but morning clock in/ clock out in the time. When you tell manager that you are severely understaffed and can't even take a break, which is daily issue, and manager tells you: "I do not want to hear you had no break." (But then how to safely take care of your patient when you have consistently double ratios, and no one on the unit have breaks...
So I think, this is great opportunity to let administration catch that there is issue (besides it is legal obligation to provide you with break). (If he does not want to hear it, you can send him emails each time you had such a shift and anyone who had the same problem. If they see that there is a problem with nurses having break, they will develop pressure on your manager. (They will try to say that nurses are abusing it and so and so), manager will develop pressure on you. Or will just modify the time card. (How legal it is, is highly disputable and it leaves traces in system).
Now it is up to you guys. You back off, or you don't and if you do not, admin will have to solve it. (Either by scheduled breaks, hiring extra nurse).
hppygr8ful, ASN, RN, EMT-I
4 Articles; 5,212 Posts
Labor laws do apply especially in California - If you don't get your break and are an hourly employee you must be paid 1 1/2 your hourly rate for the 30 minute break you did not get. My employer tries to get us to submit written "False" timecard corrections if we don't take a break. I refuse to do this and have said so from my first day of employment. I get paid for the time I work .
Hppy