While violations of labor laws for healthcare workers seem to get the most press when they affect medical staff, they happen to administrative and support staff too.
The people most easily overlooked in terms of ensuring compliance of labor laws for healthcare workers are hospital cooks, janitors, social workers, and unit secretaries or other support staff. These employees as well as medical staff are entitled to protection under applicable labor laws for healthcare workers.
California employment laws provide these protections, as do federal labor laws under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) which come to play when looking at practices that oppose them. There is a certain amount of overlap between the state and federal level.
Labor Laws for Healthcare Workers
In California, state labor laws for healthcare workers and employees within other occupations stipulate that a non-exempt worker is due one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for every hour worked beyond eight in one day and beyond 40 hours in a single seven day week.
Further, if an employee works six consecutive days at a stretch and is scheduled for a seventh, the shift on the seventh day needs to be paid at this overtime rate of one and one-half times their regular hourly rate.
This overtime rate jumps to double or two times their regularly hourly rate if they work more than 12 hours in a single day or for any time over and above eight hours on the seventh consecutive work day.
California labor laws for healthcare workers and other employees also outlines acceptable meal and rest break practices. For a shift lasting five to nine hours, a non-exempt worker is to be given a half-hour meal break.
A second half-hour meal break needs to be given if the shift extends to ten hours and above. For every four hours worked at any time, an employee needs to be allowed to take a ten minute rest break.
Given the nature of healthcare occupations, meal and rest breaks are sometimes difficult to ensure. Because of this, a healthcare employer is expected to pay an additional hour of pay for every meal or rest break missed. Nevertheless, every effort must be made to completely relieve a worker of their duties for these crucial law-supported breaks.
The state further protects non-exempt workers by stipulating that a contract needs to be drawn up between the healthcare agency—or another employer—and the employee in advance. This contract needs to indicate that the employee agrees to payment in lieu of a meal or rest break.
One of the ways in which hospitals, assisted living facilities, and clinics have allegedly attempted to get around these laws is by misclassifying certain roles as exempt from legal protections, such as by designating an employee a “learned professional under the FLSA. Social workers are often classified this way when a good percentage hold bachelor’s and master’s degrees in unrelated disciplines.
The learned professional exception can be used in certain circumstances where the social worker has either a bachelors or masters degree in social work, or closely related courses of study on both levels with state licensure in the field. Also, the worker should have on-the-job experience and continuing education credits.
Are you a healthcare worker in any capacity? Have you been denied meal or rest breaks and not been paid for this time? Have you been pressured to work off the clock when patient or hospital census is high? You may have a legal claim.
