All healthcare facilities are required to have a meal and rest break waiver on file for all employees. Before January 1, 2026, the employer developed these forms without mandatory agreement or input from Labor Unions. A demand to bargain has been sent to Julie Feller and Shannon Johnson. While we wait to hear back, know your rights under the law:

1. Under RCW 49.12.480 Meal and Rest Breaks for healthcare facility employees, there is to be a waiver between the employer and employee that is bargained and approved by the Labor Unions present at the facility.
2. Under WAC 296-126-092, employees are entitled to the following rights:
   1. Employees shall be allowed an unpaid meal period of at least thirty minutes, which commences no less than two hours or more than five hours from the beginning of the shift.
   2. No employee shall be required to work more than five consecutive hours without a meal period.
   3. Employees shall be allowed a paid rest period of at least 15 minutes, on the employer's time, for each four hours of working time. Rest breaks shall be scheduled as near as possible to the midpoint of the work period.

Why is this important?

If you have not signed a waiver with the employer, waiving the timing of your meal or rest breaks, then receiving your meal and rest breaks outside of the lawfully prescribed timeframe, your break is considered missed. If your meal is missed, you are entitled to an additional 30 minutes of pay at the back end. For every meal period that is missed, you are entitled to an additional 10 minutes of pay at the back end.

Employees, once a waiver is in place, are legally able to withdraw the waiver at any point during their shift. One of the other pieces is that nurses can combine two of their rest periods with a meal period, as agreed by the employer. Staff are also able to waive their 30-minute unpaid meal period when working less than an 8-hour shift.

Meal and Rest breaks can only be interrupted for specific reasons:

• RCW 49.28.130 "Unforeseeable emergent circumstance" means
  • (a) any unforeseen declared national, state, or municipal emergency;
  • (b) when a health care facility disaster plan is activated; or
  • (c) any unforeseen disaster or other catastrophic event which substantially affects or increases the need for health care services.

The goal of this legislation is for staff to be able to fully step away from their assignment by leaving their phone/Vocera with another staff member. The ideal is to have a meal and rest break RN who can provide these breaks, as we are still required to adhere to the staffing matrix.

Staffing Matrix

Hospitals are required to post their approved staffing matrix in a visible location on every unit. Each staffing matrix lists the total number of staff per patient. Here are some key elements that everyone needs to be aware of:

1. The number of staff on the matrix is the minimum number required under the law to safely staff the unit.
   1. The law specifically calls out the use of acuity when establishing how many staff are needed to be safely staffed.
   2. The number of staff listed is the number of staff that must legally be on the floor providing direct patient care for the facility to be in compliance.
   3. When a staff member leaves the floor to take a meal or rest break, there is no other staff member with the same clinical qualifications to replace them; the unit is now out of compliance.
   4. Staff are asked to file an ADO, and please make sure you are filling out the actual and planned staffing numbers on the form.
2. The hospital does not feel that this is unsafe. We have pushed back against this, as doubling an assignment is unsafe under all circumstances. Filing an ADO is a protected action, and we have language around this in the CBA.

Officers and Staffing Committee

We are looking for nurses who are members in good standing who are interested in joining our officer group or the hospital staffing committee. If you are interested in either, please contact your nurse representative, Stephenie Troftgruben (stroftgruben@wsna.org). If you are unsure of your membership status, please reach out and fill out a membership application below:

Leadership

The WSNA Leadership conference is coming up. It will be in Wenatchee April 26-28^th, we are hoping to see at least 10 Gray’s Harbor nurses in attendance. This is a great opportunity to meet with other strong union leaders and share knowledge and solidarity.