A large hospital required nurses to work 80 hours over two-week (14 day) pay periods. In addition, nurses were also considered to be “on-call” for an additional 20 hours during the pay period. While on call, nurses were required to carry pagers or cell phones and respond to calls within 15 minutes. They were not allowed to consume alcohol. They were not allowed to travel more than 30 minutes away from the hospital or engage in activities (including personal medical visits) that might prevent them from being available within 30 minutes.
1. Are the nurses entitled to additional compensation and if so, at what rate?
2. When on-call, the nurses are required to activate the GPS services on their pagers or cell phones. If the nurse violated the 30-minute rule, the nurse was subject to disciplinary action. Is this legal?
