Assisted living facility-New executive director doesn't want to pay us for taking classes.

[Katrinacat@999]

I have worked in assisted living in Florida for over 5 years. We, the nursing staff were always told that we MUST complete certain classes as required by the state. In the past, we were always paid for taking all of these "required classes". We now have a new Executive Director at our facility. She says we must take these required classes. HOWEVER, she said she is not going to pay us for taking any of these "required classes"? Is this even legal for her to do this?

 

[LdiJ]

I have worked in assisted living in Florida for over 5 years. We, the nursing staff were always told that we MUST complete certain classes as required by the state. In the past, we were always paid for taking all of these "required classes". We now have a new Executive Director at our facility. She says we must take these required classes. HOWEVER, she said she is not going to pay us for taking any of these "required classes"? Is this even legal for her to do this?

It is likely legal. However, it is also perfectly legal for you to quit working there and to go to work for an assisting living center that WILL pay for the classes.

 

[Katrinacat@999]

Oh no!!! I am sorry to hear that it is likely legal.

 

[cbg]

My understanding, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, is that it they are required by the employer you need to be paid for them but if they are required by the state they are not.

 

[zddoodah]

I'm curious why you have "required classes" in quotation marks. Do you not believe that the classes are required?

Attorneys are required by the state to take continuing legal education classes. While employers often cover those costs, many don't, and there is no legal requirement that they do so. I can't see why it would be any different for any other profession.

 

[adjusterjack]

We, the nursing staff were always told that we MUST complete certain classes as required by the state

If you are licensed by the state then you should already know that the state requires continuing education for you to keep your license.

That your employer paid for it in the past doesn't obligate the employer to pay for it in the future.

 

[Bali Hai Again]

I have worked in assisted living in Florida for over 5 years. We, the nursing staff were always told that we MUST complete certain classes as required by the state. In the past, we were always paid for taking all of these "required classes". We now have a new Executive Director at our facility. She says we must take these required classes. HOWEVER, she said she is not going to pay us for taking any of these "required classes"? Is this even legal for her to do this?

It may or may not be legal but is one reason why unions are formed. The new Executive Director will likely screw up your workplace and after a couple years move on to screw up another workplace leaving disgruntled employees in their wake negatively affecting the quality of assisted living at the facility.

 

[Katrinacat@999]

If you are licensed by the state then you should already know that the state requires continuing education for you to keep your license.

That your employer paid for it in the past doesn't obligate the employer to pay for it in the future.

 

[Katrinacat@999]

I guess I don't really know if the state requires these required classes or not at my job. As a nurse, I do have to complete continuing education credits which nurses pay for themselves, not the job. This is other training that the job says we are required to do. I posted this question on a nursing site also and they said that my job has to pay for these classes. Thanks.

 

[adjusterjack]

I posted this question on a nursing site also and they said that my job has to pay for these classes.

Ask for statutory citations (fed or state) otherwise you have nothing.

 

[Zigner]

It would depend on the specifics (which are lacking in this thread), but the FLSA may require that it be paid:

Lectures, Meetings and Training Programs:​

Attendance at lectures, meetings, training programs and similar activities need not be counted as working time only if four criteria are met, namely: it is outside normal hours, it is voluntary, not job related, and no other work is concurrently performed.


https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/22-flsa-hours-worked

 

[Zigner]

I guess I don't really know if the state requires these required classes or not at my job.

That may be an important thing to find out.

 

[Mark_A]

It is likely legal. However, it is also perfectly legal for you to quit working there and to go to work for an assisting living center that WILL pay for the classes.

I have noticed, especially in Florida, that demand for Assisted Living has decreased quite a bit in the last few years, due to a large number of COVID-19 related deaths among the elderly. I also know of a Florida funeral home that went out of business recently, after having been in business for almost 90 years.

 

[AlmostThere]

Also, do you have a contract, or employee handbook that speaks to these classes?

 

[FarmerJ]

Federal labor law may be the answer, Search on the fed definition of work related task, I cant remember where but what I found long ago was that any task related to work is to be paid task it seems to me that at one time because of my employer Insisting that controlled substances ( meds) be counted by in coming staff and outgoing staff but they refused to pay for it so if you arrived at 10:55 pm and out going shift ended at 11:00 pm and put that five minutes on your time card and punched in at 10:55 they still refused to pay it. One coordinator adjusted many of her sites shifts to run 10:45 pm to 8:45 am in order to make sure that the overnights got paid for med counting. What my employer does with mandatory annual training is if your a 40 40 employee they adjust one shift down so they do not pay OT for the training so say with 9 shift 72 hour position the 32 hour week is when they would schedule the class . So see what you can find then you will have to figure out how high up the chain you want to take this issue , Do keep records of every training attended and if they have sign in sheets id suggest taking a pic with your phone after you signed in. ( you know , your printed name signature site info and name of the trainer and hours of the length of training and if it has trainers name too.