NURSES OVERTIME ALERT!
Many nurses,
including registered nurses (“RNs”) and
licensed practical nurses (“LPNs,”) are
eligible to earn overtime compensation for
hours worked over forty per week. If you are
working as an RN or LPN, your employer may be
inadvertently assuming you are not entitled to
overtime pay. If you work more than forty
hours a week, you may want to consider
contacting Burr & Smith to determine whether
you are eligible for overtime
compensation.
New
regulations governing entitlement to overtime
wages are tentatively scheduled to take effect
August 23, 2004. These regulations confirm
that LPNs do not fall within the
“professional” exemption. Thus, they are
entitled to overtime pay for hours over forty
per week.
RNs who are
registered by the appropriate State examining
board generally are exempt from eligibility
for overtime pay under the “learned
professional” exemption. However, this
exemption only applies if they are compensated
“on a salary or fee basis at a rate of not
less than $170 per week…” 29 C.F.R. § 541.311.
Nurses whose compensation changes from week to
week in accordance with their hours worked are
not paid on a “salary” or “fee” basis.
Therefore, their work does not come within the
definition of bona fide
executive, administrative or professional,
employees.
See, Elwell v.
University Hos. Home Care Serv.
, 276 F.3d at 832 (6th
Cir. 2002) (nurses paid under a
Under the new regulations which may be
effective August 2004, this exemption will
only apply to RNs compensated on a salary
or fee basis at a rate not less than $455
per week, (or $380 per week if employed in
American Samoa by employer other than the
federal government), exclusive of board,
lodging, or other facilities. Defining and
Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive,
Administrative, Professional, Computer and
Outside Sales Employees, 69 Fed.Reg.
22,260 (2004) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R.
§ 541.301(e)(2)).
hybrid
compensation plan, which combined both fee
based and hourly compensation, were not
professionals exempt from overtime
requirements);
Brock v.
Superior Care, Inc., 840 F.2d 1054,
1061 (2d Cir. 1988)
(nurses do not
come within the definition of a bona
fide professional employee when
they are paid on an hourly basis). Such
nursing professionals may be entitled to time
and one half their regular rate of pay for
each hour worked over forty per week.
If you
are not receiving overtime compensation for
hours over forty per week but you think you
may be entitled to it, we invite you to
contact Burr & Smith for a individual
consultation and review of the specific
circumstances surrounding your compensation.
