I am a surgical RN and live in south Mississippi. Our hospital is located 40 miles from the Gulf Coast and was directly effected by Hurricane Katrina. Katrina began effecting our area at 10 am Mon. morning and the on-call staff was required to come to the hospital and stay through the storm, because communication systems would be down. Telephone and pager systems were then down for 5 days after the storm, so staff had to stay at the hospital around the clock just in case a surgery were needed or we were told we would be fired. We all rotated 24 shifts at the hospital. We also helped other units that were busy when there were no emergency surgeries. We were paid only 8 hours of the 24 hours shifts and was told that any work we did in other units was to be considered "helping out". Is this legal? Do we have any grounds for investigating? :confused:

We were paid only 8 hours of the 24 hours shifts and was told that any work we did in other units was to be considered "helping out". Is this legal? No. All non-exempt (hourly paid) employees must be paid for all work time and the time they were required to be on the employer's premises.

Do we have any grounds for investigating? Yes, but before you do that, given the enormity of the situation and how much stress it placed everyone in your area under, what do you think about giving your employer another chance to get this right before filing a complaint with the State? I suggest you nicely tell the appropriate management person that it's your understanding that all non-exempt employees must be paid for all time worked, which includes any on-call time they were required to be at the hospital, and suggest they look into the appropriate wage and hour laws that dictate that. In other words, give them a chance to do some research and make it right.

If that doesn't do the trick, then contact Mississippi's Department of Labor and file a complaint.