January 28, 2025
1 - 2 pm
Virtual

Have you ever been asked to meet with HR or your manager? Have you ever said yes and then left the office crying or surprised at how you were treated? Have you ever talked with a colleague who had a similar experience?

These meetings are also known as “fact-finding meetings”, “investigatory meetings”, or “investigation interviews”. Nurses are asked to attend these when their employer is performing an investigation, usually into an allegation of misconduct, performance issues, bullying, drug diversion, patient complaints, and many other reasons.

As union workers, you are entitled to have union representation at interviews that you have reasonable suspicion may lead to discipline or termination- these rights are known as Weingarten Rights. You must invoke these rights, and we want all nurses to know what that looks in real time.

Join us on January 28, 2025, from 1-2 pm for a hybrid format, free training on investigation interviews. This workshop is nurse led by Tristan Twohig RN, grievance officer at Holy Family, and WSNA Nurse Rep Alle Machorro. We will be deep diving into these meetings, to see how nurses can best represent themselves and support their colleagues if they are called to meet with HR or management. Weingarten rights will be reviewed along with a practical demonstration of an investigation interview.

Questions? Contact Nurse Representative Alle Machorro at amachorro@wsna.org.

Use the link below January 28 at 1 pm.
Meeting ID: 211 458 547 469
Passcode: tu7iK7KY

Come meet with your WSNA Nurse Representative.

Refreshments provided.

February 4 10 am -1 pm

Café Conference Room

• Discussion surrounding Total Patient Care when staffing shortages are presenting.
• Identifying potentials for enticing staff to fill open and short shifts.
• House Supervisors skill/ability to help during staff rest and meal breaks.
• Reviewing staffing needs on all units before sending a staff member home on LC.
• ADOs reviewed: ED-4, M/S-2, HHH-1

Staffing Complaint / ADO Form - WSNA

It is imperative that you notify the charge nurse related to your staffing issue. Next, follow the chain of command by notifying the House Supervisor and your manager.

1. Charge nurse is unable to perform charge nurse duties, secondary to increased patient care assignment.
2. Inadequate nurse to patient ratios for patient acuity based on your clinical judgment.
3. Insufficient support staff requires you to assume additional duties.
4. You are not trained or experienced in the area assigned.
5. You have not been oriented to the unit or case load.
6. Patient care equipment is missing or unusable.
7. Necessary equipment is not available (medication availability, IVs, supplies)
8. You are trained or experienced to use the equipment in the assigned area.
9. System failure (phones, call system, computer, etc.)
10. An assignment poses a serious threat to your health/ safety (WPV)
11. An assignment poses a serious health/ safety threat to a patient under your direct care.
12. Forced /mandatory overtime.
13. Missed breaks/meals.

We are hearing a great deal of concern about meal and rest breaks and want to provide information about what is acceptable under the break law versus what should be reported to L&I.

This is lengthy but should answer many of your concerns. The information included here is based on the complaints we are hearing and is not a summary of the entire law or every issue.

Regulating agency for missed breaks

The new law is being regulated and enforced by L&I (Labor and Industries). They are addressing all issues related to missed breaks, non-compliance with the break law, and retaliation towards nurses who are trying to take their breaks (more below).

Complaints related to the breaks must be filed by the affected nurse. Filing these complaints is protected activity and any retaliation will be investigated and addressed by L&I.

You can file a complaint here: https://secure.lni.wa.gov/wagecomplaint/#/.

What is a violation?

Nurses are entitled to breaks based on the number of hours they work. *

• 12-hour nurses get 2 meal breaks (30 min each) and 3 rest breaks (15 min each).
• 10-hour nurses get 2 meal breaks (30 min each) and 2 rest breaks (15 min each).
• 8-hour shifts get 1 meal break (30 min) and 2 rest breaks (15 min each).

*These may differ if you have waived a meal period, or if you are working over 12 hours.

An Employer can be reported for a violation if they take adverse action against a nurse who is exercising their right to:

1. Take the meal breaks they are entitled to have under the law.
2. Accurately report missed breaks in the hospital tracking system.
3. File a complaint related to a perceived violation.
4. Expressing concerns about break relief to management

Adverse actions can include actions such as:

1. Suspension, termination, demotion, or denial of a promotion
2. Reduction of work hours
3. Oral or written warning
4. Reducing rate of pay

Employers are allowed to offer waivers to skip one of the meal periods. You cannot waive rest breaks.

These waivers must be initiated by the employee, and you cannot be coerced or forced to sign it.

Your waiver can be rescinded at any time by contacting HR and notifying them to remove it.

If you have been forced to sign a meal waiver against your will, been led to believe that you must sign it, have been threatened with discipline for not signing it, or have been told that you cannot rescind the waiver, please contact L&I. Based on individual circumstances, they may ask you to file a complaint.

Documenting missed breaks is critical for enforcing the break law.

If the Employer is not compliant, they can get penalized and have to make changes to ensure breaks. If nurses are not reporting their missed breaks, then the Employer will not be held accountable for failing to provide break coverage.

If you are told that you can receive discipline for reporting your missed break when no mechanism for taking a break has been provided, you can report retaliation as indicated above.

Breaks are designated time that is free of interruptions and work-related tasks. Please do not use this time to do charting, or to “catch up” on work.

If, for example, you hand off your patients to a break nurse, then choose to spend your break time charting, you cannot claim that you did not get a break at the end of shift.

We recommend that you leave the floor completely, or go to a break room, to ensure that your break time is separate from your working time.

If Management is unable to provide a nurse to assume care of your patients, or if you are a change nurse who is unable to leave the unit because there is no one who can cover your duties, then you should be reporting all the breaks you missed at the end of your shift.

1. Write a clear statement of the violation.  Examples: “I was retaliated against because I questioned management about breaks, and my hours were reduced,” or “I was disciplined for reporting that I missed breaks when no staff was available to provide my break.”
2. Gather facts about the staffing on the unit. For example, the number of patients, number of nurses, number of available break nurses, any staffing adjustments made after the shift started, relevant parties who witnessed or participated in your concern, etc.
3. Record the date, time, Charge nurse, and managers for that day.
4. Keep records of written conversations related to the incident being reported.
5. Review with your nurse rep prior to filing, if necessary.

Meal and rest break protections for certain healthcare workers. Labor and Industries Administrative Policy. HLS.A.2 (wa.gov)

RCW 49.12.480 Meal and rest breaks for healthcare facility employees.

RCW 49.12.483 Meal and rest breaks for health care facility employees – enforcement/penalties/retaliatory actions/appeals.

WAC 296-126-092 Meal periods-rest periods

Can the employer require mandatory overtime?

RCW 49.28.140
Hours of health care facility employees—Mandatory overtime prohibited—Exceptions.
 
There are four exceptions under this law when an employer may be permitted to mandate overtime.

1. Unforeseeable Emergent Circumstance
   • any unforeseen declared national, state, or municipal emergency;
   • when a health care facility disaster plan is activated; or
   • any unforeseen disaster or other catastrophic event which substantially affects or increases the need for health care services.
2. Patient in Progress
   • when an employee is required to work overtime to complete a patient care procedure already in progress where the absence of the employee could have an adverse effect on the patient.
3. Prescheduled on-call time
   • may not be used in lieu of scheduling employees to work regularly scheduled shift when a staffing plan indicates the need for a scheduled shift;
   • may not be used to address regular changes in patient census or acuity
   • may not be used to address expected increases in the number of employees not reporting for predetermined scheduled shifts.
4. Reasonable Efforts
   Employers who are chronically short staffed cannot use the “reasonable effort” exception. To use this exception, the employer must document that they have done all of the following:
   • sought individuals to volunteer to work extra time from all available qualified staff who are working;
   • contacted qualified employees who have made themselves available to work extra time;
   • sought the use of per diem staff; and
   • sought personnel from a contracted temporary agency when such staffing is permitted by law or an applicable collective bargaining agreement and when the employer regularly uses a contracted temporary agency.

For more information on this topic: HLS.A.1 Mandatory Overtime

The current contract expires December 31, 2025. We are preparing for our next bargaining and will send out a pre-bargaining survey in the spring.

Kara Henderson, ED, Chair
Donna McCune, FBP, Co-Chair
Hanni Johnson, ED, Secretary
Erik Berkas, ED, Treasurer
Anji Bryant, SOP, Grievance Officer
Jordan Simon, ED, Membership Officer

Questions/Concerns Contact Laurie Robinson, Nurse Representative, 206-620-4136,  lrobinson@wsna.org.

For more information on how you can get involved contact Jenny Galassi, Nurse Organizer, 206-707-2948, jgalassi@wsna.org.

If you are not a WSNA member please consider completing a membership application today! Just click on the link!

YOU ARE WSNA!