Meal and Rest Breaks

We have been hearing from nurses at UGH about missed meal and rest breaks, as well as the difficult process to report meal and rest breaks when they are missed.

We wanted to reach out with information that you should know about your missed breaks. Reporting these does not only make sure that you are paid appropriately but also helps you get the proper staffing you need in your facility.

As you may know, the staffing law and break laws changed recently and UGH management must now report to the DOH how often they are not in compliance with the staffing plan. If they fall below 80% they risk enforcement and may receive financial penalties. As part of these staffing plans, the staffing committee must also consider how breaks are given, how many staff are needed to ensure breaks, and whether the current numbers allow nurses to get all of their rest breaks and meal periods.

These numbers are largely determined by the nurses reporting when their meal periods and rest breaks are missed. If nurses report zero missed meals and breaks, the hospital then reports 100% compliance, DOH will not be notified of the insufficient staff, and there will be no oversight to encourage your employer to staff appropriately.

This is our ask:

1. Report your missed rest breaks and meal periods.
   1. We understand that you may need to have a conversation with management about why the break was missed, but it is a violation if that communication is coercive, threatens discipline, or in any way prohibits you from correctly reporting you missed breaks. Missed rest and meal breaks are PAID time, and your Employer is obligated to pay for meals and breaks that are missed.
   2. If you feel as if you have been discouraged from reporting missed meals and breaks, if you have reported missed meals and breaks and did not receive payment for them, or if you are regularly missing breaks and your Employer is not addressing the issue, you can file a complaint with L&I at this link: https://www.lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/workplace-policies/rest-breaks-meal-periods-and-schedules
2. Talk to the members of staffing committee about why breaks are being missed on your unit. If this is a staffing issue, they can help propose changes to the staffing plan to make sure that your unit has the appropriate number of nurses to provide safe patient care as well as meal and rest breaks.
   1. If your management is aware that this is an ongoing issue but is unwilling to adjust the staffing plan to guarantee break relief, a complaint may need to be filed with DOH. The complaint form can be found here: https://fortress.wa.gov/doh/providercredentialsearch/ComplaintIntakeForm.aspx
   2. Please contact your nurse rep, Brenda Balogh,  at bbalogh@wsna.org for assistance completing this complaint.

Reporting breaks correctly has always been important to the nursing profession, but right now it is critical for hospitals to be held accountable as they begin setting standards for the number of staff they need to provide in their facilities. The changes made now may impact your facility for years to come.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your nurse rep, Brenda Balogh, at bbalogh@wsna.org.