Need Advice for NY State Nurses and Labor

[MattBaggins]

I am a nurse in a NY State Nursing Home. The Aides and other workers are SEIU but nurses are not. We have tough jobs and often have to work late, any where from 10 minutes to an hour sometimes. Myself and many nurses are getting written up for punching out late; the majority of which is for time we worked over but did not get paid "because it wasn't authorized". Yes we are getting written up for working overtime that we never got approved anyway.

Does this shit sound even legal? I got the paper today and since they felt clever in printing out, itemizing and highlighting each 8 min occurrence; I told the Supervisor I wanted to wait for the director, and I want my own copy AND copies of my pay records for this year. I have 11 hours since January that I have apparently been stealing money from the residents by providing them with urgent care when they need it late at night. My facility has crappy nurse coverage and routinely makes us work double floors, more often then we get one floor. Take care of 40 people but don't dare punch out late.

As for a us joining the union... They fired the nurses last time they tried.

[SheilaT]

1. Having a union isn't the issue here.

What's at issue is being required to work off the clock. There are federal laws about that. And if they won't pay you for overtime, then don't put in one minute extra.

[MattBaggins]

2. This is punching out

Nursing is all about catch-22's. I can't leave someone in need of care, but the jerks at work just talk down to you about "time management" and "organizing" as if someone falling on the way to the bathroom 15 minutes to shift exchange has something to do with that.

[SheilaT]

3. They are obligated to pay you for the time actually worked.

From the time punched in to the time punched out. If they are not doing so, contact the NLRB about this.

If they are asking you to work off the clock, that is also illegal. I know too many people who do that, in part because their boss will get on them for not completing their work in the hours paid for. I keep on pointing out that the only management can understand that you have been assigned too much work is that you not work off the clock.

[Omaha Steve]

4. Dept of Labor Wage and Hour

Start with a complaint there.

If you can quietly talk to the other nurses, a union organizing drive could be successful. Were charges filed last time for those that got fired?

OS

[MattBaggins]

5. I do not know if charges were filed