People in the Empire State are wondering how an employee amassed $630,000 of overtime in less than 5 years—no, that is not a typo! And many are wondering how she could work 163 days straight!
 |
The Westchester County Journal News broke the story of a prison nurse with a base salary of $58,000 per year who racked up the overtime on overnight night shifts of 16.5 hours, including working for 6 months straight without taking a day off! Is it a case of incredible stamina? Or is it questionable scheduling practices (not only did she work approximately 90 percent of available work hours, but she was also ranked in the top 20 highest-paid state workers)?
“She must have been the bionic nurse in her time to be able to work that many hours without any rest,” Democratic State Senator Jeff Klein (D-Bronx), told the newspaper. And Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center for Public Policy, told the paper, “Why is it necessary for this person year after year after year to be working so much overtime?” he asked. “Is it not cheaper to hire somebody else? … It doesn’t seem right.”
A former Department of Corrections commissioner had told a state senate hearing that union contracts prevented administrators from telling employees they cannot work more than 5 days straight, but not more than 16 hours in a given day, and that union members are free to work as many days as they want.
There were concerns raised that working that many hours could cause someone who is fatigued to make mistakes. And in the case of a nurse, these mistakes could include administering incorrect medications or amounts, potentially causing serious harm! The Department of Corrections told the paper it plans on hiring more staff.
Let’s hope there’s followup to ensure the DOC does indeed hire more nurses.