Taking turns going home due to overstaffing

[violas]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida. At the nursing home, they have hired-(on purpose) too many nurses and too many CNA's on all shifts. Even if you are a full-timer, you have to take turns going home. They never call you at home and tell you that it is your turn to stay home. Never. They always wait until everyone arrives to the nursing home and then they decide whose turn it is to go home. They usually send at least one person home every shift. Someone at work said that according to the labor board that they are suppose to pay you for 4 hours even though you are sent home after you arrive to work. Is this true?

 

[Zigner]

Florida does not appear to have a requirement for reporting time pay. Federal law does not either.

Some states do - but not many.

 

[swalsh411]

However, you may have a compensable time issue if you are scheduled to start at 8, are ready to work at 8, and stand around until 8:30 for them to decide who to send home. How much time passes between the scheduled start and when they tell somebody to go home?

 

[Zigner]

However, you may have a compensable time issue if you are scheduled to start at 8, are ready to work at 8, and stand around until 8:30 for them to decide who to send home. How much time passes between the scheduled start and when they tell somebody to go home?

I agree that the employee would be entitled to the time spent "standing around" (1/2 hour in your example.)

 

[cbg]

More states do not have a "reporting time pay" law than do, and it's not 4 hours in all of the ones that do. (In my state it's 3.) Florida does not have one at all.

I agree that you should be paid for any time between when you leave, and when you are sent home (1/2 an hour in the example provided). However, as a practical matter, FL does not have a state DOL so any claims would have to be submitted through either the US DOL or small claims court. The US DOL will only support Federal minimum wage plus overtime, so for 1 half hour we'd be talking about a claim for a few cents over $3.00 per instance. If it were less than a half hour, it would be even less (there is no half-hour minimum or anything like that). The filing fee for small claims is considerably more than that. How much of your time do you want to spend pursuing this action? Only you can answer that, but these are things to be considered.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

In my state it's 3

Do you have a citation handy for that. My kid's employer frequently sends people home early.

EDIT: Never mind. It's at http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/subject/about/employmentfaq.html#paidhours

 

[violas]

We usually have to wait 1 hour

We do clock in and do get paid while we are waiting around. It's just so annoying to get dressed, drive to the job and then sit around and wonder if it is your turn again to go home. Some of us have other jobs too and instead of going to these other jobs and getting paid, we waste our time going to this job just to be sent home.

 

[Silverplum]

We do clock in and do get paid while we are waiting around. It's just so annoying to get dressed, drive to the job and then sit around and wonder if it is your turn again to go home. Some of us have other jobs too and instead of going to these other jobs and getting paid, we waste our time going to this job just to be sent home.

"Annoying" does not equal "illegal."

 

[Zigner]

We do clock in and do get paid while we are waiting around. It's just so annoying to get dressed, drive to the job and then sit around and wonder if it is your turn again to go home. Some of us have other jobs too and instead of going to these other jobs and getting paid, we waste our time going to this job just to be sent home.

It kind of sucks, but there is no law against the practice in your state.

 

[ecmst12]

Nursing homes seem to be near universally crappy places to work.

 

[LdiJ]

It kind of sucks, but there is no law against the practice in your state.

I agree...but I can almost guarantee that it won't last forever. They will start losing staff, and word will get around, and then they will end up with a staffing shortage.

I see the pattern continually because that is my daughter's profession...and as far as emsct12's comment...yeah, if you care about your patients and try to advocate for them, they can be pretty crappy places to work.

 

[ecmst12]

Doubtful, nurse's aides are basically unskilled labor (most states you don't even need a certificate to do it) and easy to come by. Most likely they already have a high turnaround on nurses and aides - almost all of them do. 90% of people working there are doing it because they couldn't find something better.

 

[cbg]

It kind of sucks, but there is no law against the practice in your state.

There is no law against the practice in any state. It's simply that in some states, they have to be paid for a minimum length of time whether they are there for that length of time or not.

 

[LdiJ]

Doubtful, nurse's aides are basically unskilled labor (most states you don't even need a certificate to do it) and easy to come by. Most likely they already have a high turnaround on nurses and aides - almost all of them do. 90% of people working there are doing it because they couldn't find something better.

That is way inaccurate these days. CNAs in all states have to undergo serious training and require certificates, and this OP specifically stated nurses and CNAs.

 

[TigerD]

That is way inaccurate these days. CNAs in all states have to undergo serious training and require certificates, and this OP specifically stated nurses and CNAs.

Serious training? Really? They are required to have 75 hours of training and 16 hours of supervised experience. (42 CFR 483.152). There are fast food restaurants with more serious training requirements.

In Missouri they are still required to only have 75 hours of training, but the on-the-job supervised training requirement is 100 hours. 19 CSR 30-84.010.

Less than 2 weeks of training and 2 days of OJT - or 2.5 weeks of OJT in Mo. <<-- Not what I would call serious.

DC