witholding wages
COMPREHENSIVE5
7 Posts
Our payroll is driven by DAR's(daily activity reports 1 for each day worked) and nurses notes. The combination of the two tells us which visits the nurse/therapist has made,length of visit and outcome.
These notes and Dar's are to be turned on a daily basis(Medicare requires the nurses notes to be in the patient charts within 48 hours)
For payroll purposes all notes are due in our office by 12:00 noon on Payroll Monday.
We have sent out a memo stating that Dars and notes not received by the deadline will result in the paycheck bieng held until the next pay period. One employee has raised the legality of holding back paychecks,even though this employee repeatedly turns in paperwork late. Any help you can suggest in re-writing the memo of the legality of deferring the pay to the next period will be appreciated.
These notes and Dar's are to be turned on a daily basis(Medicare requires the nurses notes to be in the patient charts within 48 hours)
For payroll purposes all notes are due in our office by 12:00 noon on Payroll Monday.
We have sent out a memo stating that Dars and notes not received by the deadline will result in the paycheck bieng held until the next pay period. One employee has raised the legality of holding back paychecks,even though this employee repeatedly turns in paperwork late. Any help you can suggest in re-writing the memo of the legality of deferring the pay to the next period will be appreciated.
Comments
Human Resources Mgr.
Thank you for your input.
PS Welcome to the forum.
Human Resources Mgr.
I love your attitude. Thanks for the input.
I just have a real problem with the payroll people having to work until 10 at night, because the field people can't find the time to do their paperwork on time.
What I don't understand is that the Dar is for all purposes a "time sheet" If you don't have the time sheet, how do they expect us to pay them. If I have to take their word for the time worked, I am going to start telling every one that I work 100 hrs. a week.
DOL expects your employer to keep track of work hours. A timesheet is a good mechanism and satisfies some of the DOL record keeping requirements. Separate the "timesheet" from the "DAR." Put submitting timesheets on the fast track--priority document. DARs can follow. You may have revenues attached to the DAR. Try to keep the DAR as a focus on that process. You have serious liability attached to the compensation aspect of your process.
The tail is wagging the dog if your payroll folks are having to work until 10:00 p.m. to finish payroll because your process allows employees to submit their time records so late. You didn't say, but I'm presuming payroll starts their day at an expected business hour--8:00 to 9:00 a.m. If I were a payroll specialist working for your company and had that kind of work schedule to look forward to every payday, I'd be looking to do payroll for someone else, maybe someone who could manage the process differently and allow me to be home with my family long before 10:00 p.m. The situation seems to be being driven by the habits of a few rather than a management decision. What executive is going to like that?
Morale must be an issue--hard feelings, bitterness, fatigue.
Human Resources Mgr.
Actually we have great morale here. Frustration yes, but in general we have great employees and a "team" attitude that makes us all glad to come to work. It is just that nurses have become very independent due to the extreme shortage in the country.
Suzanne
Human Resources Mgr.
That is an excellent idea, however our nurses are paid by the visit and until we get the "Dar" we don't know that the visit has actually been made. Also since there is a nationwide nursing shortage, higher management will complain but are hesitant to act. I am stuck between doing what I know will work and what I am allowed to do. At least I now know the legality of what I can't do. I threaten to beat them up on a regular basis, but I must not be very scary.
Thank you for your reply.
A prior employer of mine used to estimate wages and reserve the right to correct in the following pay period. You could truly be a hero if you can develop a mechanism for estimating a wage that is fair and fairly accurate. If your morale is already great, it could only get better, and life will get easier for you. There must be some level of tension between the nursing staff and others with the current process.
Best wishes for a good solution!
Human Resources Mgr.
Thank You.
Human Resources Mgr.
Thank you for your input. It is an on going process. We value our employees and realize the amount of paperwork generated in home health. However we are trying not to sacrifice one department to satisify another Payroll vs Nursing.
It's interesting about the nursing shortage. We have a very difficult time in our area recruiting nurses and the "prima donna" attitude shows itself from time to time.
In fact, we just terminated a four year nurse because she decided that she was going to take off early even though her supervisor explicitly told her they were short staffed and she couldn't take off. She pulled another employee off her job to cover while she left. She didn't think anything would be done with her. The next day she was terminated as soon as she came in. Needless to say, she was absolutely shocked.
The kicker is, of course, that she will probably be able to go somewhere else and get another job very easily...keeping it might be a problem especially if her behavior continues.