Lyn1224 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I am a PA working in family practice in CA. I was hired as a new grad in september and have been working ~8-5 M-F and am paid an hourly wage. I keep track of my hours and turn them in to HR at the end of the pay period. Recently, a change has occurred at my office and I will now be taking call roughly every 2 months for 1 week at a time (24/7 for 7 days). Call consists of answering patient calls only, that are triaged from an answering service-no going to hospitals or actually physically seeing patients. Previously only the physicians in the practice took call. My question is: should i be compensated for taking call (I feel like the answer is yes...but unsure) has anyone else experienced anything like this while being paid hourly? and how do I go about asking for compensation? This is my first job and I have been there for 7 months and do not want to come across as entitled but also dont want to work for free! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks so much for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdebord Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I think that if you're paid hourly that you should be compensated for taking call. Additionally, if you are now taking on a new responsibility, it makes sense to see a pay increase to reflect that. Start with this: Do the physicians get paid for taking call? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn1224 Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 I have the same frame of thinking...I shouldn't be doing more work for free. I am fairly confident the physicians do not get paid for call, but they do all have their cell phones (iPhones) paid for by the company since they are using them for work related function. I just hate asking for more money as a new grad but then again I know I'm worth it, and I don't want to be taken advantage of. So stressful! Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stellahead Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I'm not a PA yet, but I've learned from my years in corporate America that women tend not to ask for more money, hence they don't get it. What's the worst that will happen? They will say, "no?" That doesn't sound so bad. I'd go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebSumm Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Not every practice pays for call. Then again, not every practice requires PAs to be on call. Where I am now, we take call one weekday a week and one weekend (2 nights) a month. We are paid $30 for weekdays and $40 for weekends, regardless of how many times we are called. I had one blessed night with no calls at all, and as many as 20 calls in one night (ugh!). All things considered, I don't mind taking call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdebord Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 For what it's worth, I take call one week a month and am not compensated for it. However, I am salaried and get one afternoon off a week to make up for the call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornellSPA Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Lyn 1. If the doctors get paid for call so should you. 2. When I am on call I get nothing unless something happens, i.e. I get my regularly hourly wage for phone calls that happen 6pm to 8am, If I get called into the hospital then I get paid my hourly wage starting retoactive to 6pm (so I LOVE getting calls at 7:30am to go to the hospital, then I get paid from 6pm the previous day!!) 3. If you are using your personal cell, then you should be compensated or they cover the cost of your phone 4. I like the idea from medbord....getting time off in exchange for call time--that would be great for my tax situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyn1224 Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks so much for all the advice and feedback! I really appreciate it. I feel much more confident going in to discuss this issue with my supervisor after all the info. Thanks again all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted April 3, 2013 Administrator Share Posted April 3, 2013 More to the point... if you were hired for a "no call" position, and now have a "call" expectation, be enthusiastic about it: "Super! Glad to help out around here... what is the extra compensation for this position?" ... "Physicians don't get paid extra for on call?! Even better! When do I get to start on the physician pay scale?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jed5910 Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 California has very strict labor laws. An "hourly" employee is entilted to overtime, for any hours worked over 8 in a 24 hour peroid or for any hours worked over 40 in a week. If you are truely an hourly employee, then you do qualify for OT pay for taking call. Your OT pay would be 1.5 times your hourly wage. They could make you an expemt employee (under federal law or state law), salaried and as part of the salary require you to take call. However as a rule exempt employees are entilted to "comp" time instead of extra compensation (like a half day off a week). Best advice, contact the California labor board or your HR department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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