Uncompensated call time

[twee]

Mississippi

I am a Staff RN in a hospital that is requiring it's nurses to take 3 days of "call" per month. We are expected to be available from 5:00 'til 7:00 on those days in order to be called back in to work that 12 hr shift in case of a staffing shortage (a chronic condition). If one is activated then that shift is paid at the overtime rate but there is no compensation for being "available" to receive the call to come in.

I realize 2 hrs doesn't seem like much but it is restrictive and interferes with 20% of my off time. This policy is particularly aggrevating to those of us who work the night shift...we have to sleep all day, whether activated or not, in order to be capable of functioning for that 12 hr shift if we do have to go in.

RNs are considered "professional" employees but it is a grey area...we do punch a clock and are paid overtime so in most respects we are treated as non-exempt employees despite the title of "professional". Is it legal for the hospital to demand this 2 hrs of availability, i.e. "call time" without compensation? And if we should be paid, should this time be paid at overtime rates since it is in excess of 84 hr/pay period we already work?

Thank you in advance.

 

[loku]

Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, time spent "on-call" -- for example, where all that is required of the employee is that he be accessible by telephone -- may be excluded from compensation if the employee can effectively use this time for his/her own purposes. So the question is whether you can “effectively use the time for your own purposes.

 

[twee]

Uncompensated call

Further clarification needed in Mississippi on previous post...

Since the only reason my phone would ring in that two hour period would be to call me back in to work a 12 hr shift would that be considered restrictive? I certainly cannot leave town or get involved in any activity that I could not immediately remove myself from and be prepared to work a full shift.

Do you feel the circumstances warrant a consultation with a local attorney who specializes in labor law?

 

[loku]

I don’t think the facts you give show that you can not effectively use your time for your own purposes for two reasons: 1. the same restrictions would be the case for anyone “on call” for any job, and 2. you can use your time for your own purposes, even though you are not completely free to do as you want.

However, I am no specialist in this area, so it is possible an attorney specializing in employment law would think otherwise.