Specifically rolling out of an outage night shift to days. If you've ever come off nights on Sunday morning at 7:00 then reported to work Monday morning at 7:00, you know the definition of fatigue. However, my Company does not believe the 34 hour break discussed in the Rule applies to this transition. Payroll says that a 34 hour block any time in the last 9 days satisfies the Rule. Any thoughts?
Can you give some more specifics on this? When was the last 34 hour break? Is your example of the shift ending on Sunday morning considered a Sunday morning shift or a Saturday night shift? Since most schedules I've had experience with run on a Sunday through Saturday week it matters what it is considered. When would the next 34 hour break occur in this example?
Thanks!
It occurs whenever you get 34 straight hours off..
Payroll says that a 34 hour block any time in the last 9 days satisfies the Rule.
True!
Also, guys here routinely accept overtime on backshifts that put them into the 24hr turnaround that you describe above.. nothing "illegal" about it. Sounds like you just got the short end of the straw for coming out of outage. Not a big deal. Someone's gotta work the holidays, too!
Our work weeks run Monday thru Sunday, but the 34 hour break in the last 9 days was the only consideration. While pushing the other ceilings (16 in 24, 26 in 48, etc.) is mildly fatiguing, rolling off a month of nights in 24 hours is walking death. Coming out of our last outage, one Tech pushed back on the 24-hour transition. The Company relented after the Union got involved, but only because of how our Contract handles schedule changes: it was cheaper to pay him 10 straight time to stay home than 12 hours double-time to come in. Thanks for your responses.