NAPE/AFSCME member Jude Dean, a Clinical Nurse Trainer for the Department of Correctional Services, recently prevailed in holding management accountable after she was informed that they were changing her employment status from nonexempt to overtime exempt, meaning she would no longer be compensated for overtime hours worked.
Jude works her standard 40-hour week as a Clinical Nurse Trainer and picks up overtime on the weekends as a nurse at correctional institutions in Lincoln.
“I want to get those hours on the weekends because it makes me a better trainer during the week,” she said. “It’s hard to understand the specific training needs of our corrections nurses without walking in their shoes, so being overtime eligible and having the ability to pick up these types of shifts means that I have skin in the game. I can see firsthand the areas that can be improved or the training that might be necessary.”
The Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) violated our union contract because it did not meet with our union to negotiate the proposed overtime status change. Jude contacted our union right away and a grievance was filed on her behalf. Upon the filing of a grievance, NDCS promptly resolved the issue in Jude’s favor
Jude will remain an overtime eligible employee, meaning that she can work her day shift during the week and come home to her family every night and also pick up the overtime hours on the weekend – helping to ensure she can provide the right training that meets the needs of the facility and her fellow nurses.
“I enjoy knowing that the care we’re providing for the people residing here is quality care and we’re doing our best to serve them,” she said. “I’m grateful the agency was receptive to it when we brought it up and didn’t try to fight back. Had I lost my overtime eligibility, I would’ve had to leave the education position that I’ve worked so hard for, and I didn’t want to do that because I feel that I’m serving NDCS in the best possible way right now.”
