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The original was posted on /r/maliciouscompliance by /u/zerothreeonethree on 2025-06-23 04:31:44+00:00.
Every so often, hospitals examine their financial reports and decide that their profits problem is staffing. Never the supply contracts, manager salaries, perks, redecorating the front lobby, advertising costs, or moving the admissions department to a new location for the 3rd time in 10 years. Supervisors at the psychiatric hospital where I worked were told "No More Overtime!" It wasn't a suggestion.
The problem was that the pool of qualified staff in the community willing to work there was not that large. As a result, some of our lower paid staff technicians worked 60-80 hours a week to bring staffing levels up to the required minimum, as well as make ends meet at home. Most of the need was during non-program hours on off shifts, which required routine safety checks, and paperwork.
One weekend, I had to replace 3 staff on the same night at short notice. I was able to get 2 techs from the in-house pool at regular rate. After spending 2 more hours calling every other staff person on the roster, I scheduled a full-time tech for overtime. I caught hell later in the week when timecards were reviewed for payroll. Nobody wanted to hear my reason for incurring overtime. "Don't do it again or it's going to be a formal reprimand." was the CFO's advice to me. Cue Malicious Compliance.
The next pay period, the same thing happened on a weekend. I needed 3 techs for minimum staffing on both Friday and Saturday, but nobody would take the shifts unless I gave them OT. Sorry no can do. I called the most expensive nursing agency in town and ordered 3 RNs at weekend rate with night shift differential for both nights. Agencies charge not only the staff salary but bump up the cost to make a profit since they incurred all the cost of background checks, training, and license verification. To make our lives easier and comply maliciously, I asked the evening and weekend supervisors do the same thing to staff call-ins for the rest of the schedule. All shifts were filled with nurses, even if a "1:1 sitter" for extreme suicide risk was needed. That required constant observation, but no medical skills. It just so happens this was required for a mandatory 72-hour psych observation hold initiated by the police that very morning. Once word spread to the regular staff that agency was getting all the hours, call-ins accelerated, and the agency was supplying almost half of the staff - all LPNs or RNs
When the pay period closed, the timecards and agency bill were sent to payroll. Salary cost for the 2 week period was over 300% the normal expected amount. The organic digestive matter hit the oscillating cooling blades at a high rate of speed in the CFO's office. The Nursing Director called me to explain my part in it. I simply told him in my sweetest voice ever that I had no choice. "My only option was to use the agency. After (CFO) threatened me with disciplinary action, I didn't tell him that a technician at time-and-a-half cost $4 less per hour than a pool RN at straight time, let alone an agency nurse. I could have saved a small fortune, but I guess his accounting degree is better than mine." Of course, the other 2 supervisors gave similar answers.
A new memo came out that day stating that OT was once again approved, provided certain "financial guidelines" were followed. The CFO went back to counting beans and we supervisors went back to doing what we did.