Nurses Overtime

Although there is a professional exemption for California overtime wages, registered nurses are non-exempt employees--which means overtime rules apply to them–unless they meet requirements of the white-collar exemption. Wage and hour attorneys believe that nurses can be subject to a variety of labor law violations. With few exceptions, to be exempt you must perform exempt job duties.

While some professions are exempt from mandatory overtime pay, California law specifically states the exemption doesn’t apply to nurses unless they are midwives, anesthetists, or certified nurse practitioners. If you are not one of these types of advanced practice nurses, you are likely entitled to overtime.

In 2021, registered nurses (RNs) in California earn more than in any other state at an average of $102,700, which is $8,560 monthly or $49.37 hourly. This figure can fluctuate based on your city of residence, your employer, and your overall nursing experience.
 

Nurses Meal and Rest Breaks

All employees in California, including nurses, are entitled to meal and rest breaks. You are entitled to a paid 10 minute rest break for every 4 hours and a 30 minute unpaid meal break for every 5 hours that you work.
One exception for nurses is that if you work more than an 8 hour shift, you may waive your right to a second meal break if (1) a written agreement exists that provides that one of the meal breaks is waived and (2) the written agreement may be revoked by the employee with 1 days notice. This frequently comes up for nurses who work 12 hours shifts. If they have a written agreement, then they do not have to take their second meal break.

Uniforms

Any uniforms required by the employer, such as a specific uniform that is used only at their hospital or has a distinctive color or logo, must be paid for by the employer. However, clothing (such as “scrubs”) that is not distinctive to one employer but can be used generally in the industry need not be paid for by the employer.

Travel nurse wage packages vary because in addition to a salary or hourly rate, travel nursing contracts usually provide tax-free stipends, bonuses, and “per diems” for food and housing. Although travel nurses may be employed by a staffing company based in another state, they must be paid in accordance with California laws when they are stationed in the state, including the calculation of overtime wages.

Nursing professionals who are denied overtime wages, meal breaks, and other benefits may be owed these benefits under California labor law.

Nurses Donning and Doffing

The Supreme Court has ruled that employees should be paid for time employees spend involved in certain activities, if those activities are essential to the work being done. The courts also consider whether the employer or the employee benefits from the required safety gear. Although employees benefit from safety gear by being protected from job-related hazards, employers also benefit by paying less in employee sick time in the event employees are injured on the job.

Despite such ruling, employers can argue that their employee isn’t actually working. On the other hand, the employee claims--in many donning and doffing lawsuits—that any article of clothing (not only uniforms) or safety gear the employer must provide and has mandated in order for the employee to perform the job should be compensated by the employer. This means that time spent dressing and undressing should be on-the-clock.

Like other employment violations, donning and doffing is a wage and hour claim, like any off-the-clock work where the employee is expected to perform tasks before starting a shift and/or clocking out for the day. Like missed meal and rest periods, this task can add several minutes or more (think how long it takes to don a hazmat – hazardous materials—suit) a day.

There may also be a question of how much control the employee has in the circumstances surrounding donning and doffing. If employees are required to leave the safety gear at work, and are therefore unable to fully prepare for work while at home, they may be eligible for compensation.

PPE during COVID-19

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and federal safety and health guidelines call for extensive use of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the workplace. Certain employers should scrutinize their policies on donning and doffing.

Whether workers are entitled to compensation for time spent donning and doffing PPE has been subjected to litigation for years. As well, the federal standards may differ from state standards. Employees who regularly had to wear PPE and other health and safety equipment are now wearing new and additional types of equipment. Similarly, employees who never wore any safety equipment are now wearing such equipment.

Nurse Overtime Lawsuits

In October 2020 three registered nurses filed a collective action lawsuit against the San Francisco Department of Public Health, accusing the department of violating federal labor laws. The dual-status nurses, those who work both per diem shifts and civil servant appointed positions, are not getting paid overtime when they exceed 80 hours in a pay period. The overtime hours are instead classified as per diem hours, resulting in workers not getting overtime pay, according to the San Francisco Examiner.

Many employers believe the "learned professional" exemption to the FLSA overtime and minimum requirements automatically applies, and that they won't have to pay overtime. In Ruggles v. WellPoint, Inc., however, WellPoint's call center nurses claim in a nurses overtime lawsuit that WellPoint's practice of paying them a salary and not overtime pay is a violation of the FLSA. With the lawsuit still pending, it is likely that the court will have to reexamine what it takes to be an RN working in managed care and whether RNs assigned to nontraditional medical services are misclassified.

Nurses can be subjected to a variety of labor law violations and nurse overtime lawsuits are on the rise. Unfortunately, nurses seldom file an overtime claim because they fear retaliation and that such a complaint will reflect poorly upon them. This results in many employers and staffing agencies continually violating overtime and labor law regulations and making huge profits. If you and your co-workers want to end these violations, you should seek legal help.
 

Nursing Overtime Legal Help

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Last updated on Apr-23-21