Written Up For Not Being Able To Take A Lunch Break

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  1. Are you on the floor even though you're clocked out for lunch?

    • 4
      Are you working off the clock?
    • 0
      Time management on a busy unit.

2 members have participated

I was written up by my DON for not being able to take a lunch break. I work in LTC on the night shift as a Charge Nurse and the work load is extremely heavy; not to mention that it's a Medicare / Medical Unit and charting is totally outrageous! How some nurses are able to get out on time is a mystery to me. I also sometimes work off the clock, which is against labor laws. If I stay on the clock I get in trouble for the overtime. If I work off the clock I get in trouble. I don't know what to do. How can you do time management working on such a heavy unit, when every night there's something different?

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What was the DON's reason for writing you up? Have you been spoken to prior to this?

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Yes, she had spoken to me about this before. I tried to explain to her (as if she didn't know), that the workload on the unit is very heavy. The truth is this. They know that the nurses that work the unit are not able to take a 30 minute lunch. Corporate need to see that you are clocking in and out for a lunch break so they will not be cited by the state and the labor board for a nurse not being able to take a break. You clock out for lunch, then you go back to your unit to work, and then 30 minutes later, you clock in for a lunch break that you officially did not take.

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I was written up by my DON for not being able to take a lunch break. I work in LTC on the night shift as a Charge Nurse and the work load is extremely heavy; not to mention that it's a Medicare / Medical Unit and charting is totally outrageous! How some nurses are able to get out on time is a mystery to me. I also sometimes work off the clock, which is against labor laws. If I stay on the clock I get in trouble for the overtime. If I work off the clock I get in trouble. I don't know what to do. How can you do time management working on such a heavy unit, when every night there's something different?

Neither. You have no idea of what kind of liability you are creating for yourself when you work off the clock. I would refuse to do it, write up or not.

I had a manager ONE TIME try to write me up for not taking a lunch three shifts in a row. These were times when we had tons of admissions and there was no way without compromising patient care.

That is when you utilize a section for feedback from your supervisor.

I said to her, "I need for you to write in the comments that I am to take a lunch regardless of case load. That way when we are slammed with admissions, I am covered."

She said, "You can't do that."

I said, "I must be able to because you are writing me up for not taking a lunch when we were slammed with admissions. So, either I can walk away for lunch or I can't. Which is it? Because you can't force me to stay for admissions and then turn around and write me up for not walking away for lunch. I feel like I need permission so I can give my co-workers a reason."

Side note: Nobody got a lunch and everyone was getting wrote up.

Guess what happened to my write up? It was thrown away. She told me I didn't have to sign it.

Don't be afraid to push back.

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A similar thing happened to me when I worked long term care. We didn't need to clock out for our lunch break, but when we left for the day there was a "no lunch break" option that we were always told not to use.

I got a talking to from a supervisor saying that the next step would be a write up if I had to stay over for a fourth day in a row.

My response to that was, "you can go ahead and write me up, but I'm not signing it. You see how hard I work every day. You see how often I don't get to sit down. You see how happy my residents are when I'm here. You're the one that gives me lists of things to do on top of all the stuff already keeping me over. And please don't bring up delegation and that we're a 24 hour facility because that is meaningless when what I pass on is passed back to me when I come in the next morning."

I didn't hear much after that.

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Specializes in CVICU.

You should not be clocking out for a lunch break you are not actually taking. If your facility is so adamant that you do this to avoid being cited by the labor board of your state, they need to provide adequate staffing so that your lunch break can actually be taken. If they cannot do this, you should not be clocking out and continuing to work. It is illegal.

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Yes, she had spoken to me about this before. I tried to explain to her (as if she didn't know), that the workload on the unit is very heavy. The truth is this. They know that the nurses that work the unit are not able to take a 30 minute lunch. Corporate need to see that you are clocking in and out for a lunch break so they will not be cited by the state and the labor board for a nurse not being able to take a break. You clock out for lunch, then you go back to your unit to work, and then 30 minutes later, you clock in for a lunch break that you officially did not take.

This is not legal. You can not clock out for a lunch you do not take, and continue to work through. Interestingly, there are licensing agencies who would pick up on that--"hey, if Nurse xyz was off the clock, how is this documentation accurate if timed during the supposed break?"

Perhaps the administrator would like to come in on nights and spot nurses for breaks.....

In all seriousness, this could come back and bite you. And a nifty way to either not show that there is a need for another nurse, or because the nursing staff may be long term, to get rid of them for 2 more.....

Are you union? If not, you may want to see about changing that. If so, bring it to them.....

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It seems like illegal and unethical behavior is common in many places. Maybe more prevalent in LTC.

Maybe it happens because your management just doesn't know the job. Maybe if they were educated about it, they would change staffing patterns for safe patient care.

Seems unlikely.

But, at the risk of stating the obvious, you have three choices. Try to change things, accept things, or leave.

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Specializes in PCCN.

Another no win situation in nursing, sigh.....

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Specializes in CVICU.
Another no win situation in nursing, sigh.....

It is a no win situation because the nurse tolerates it. She should be telling her employer she will contact the labor board if she is continued to be expected to lie about getting her breaks. And she should actually follow up on it if nothing is done. I get that people need jobs, but employers like this are like abusers: give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

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Specializes in Hospice.

If there are other nurses clocking out on time, can you ask them for some helpful tips with their time management?

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