By Stephanie Douglas

Two years ago, while Memphis area hospitals were at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, a long-time nurse with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) said it was a no-brainer to sign a commitment bonus to continue fighting on the frontlines.

Some requirements to the MLH Commitment Bonuses include:

-Remaining in the same employment status for two years

-Remaining in an eligible bedside, 24-7, on-call position

-Contract nurses must work 500 hours

-Part-time nurses must work 900 hours

-Full-time nurses must work 1,664 hours

To this nurse’s surprise, on October 9, she said she received a letter telling her she needed to pay back the commitment bonus, as did many other nurses who signed the two-year commitment.

The nurse said she’s never called off in the past two years, except PTO, and worked overtime.

Now she said she’s being ordered to repay $14,070, minus taxes and withholding.

With no recourse, she said this is a poor way to treat healthcare heroes who serve the sick.

In a statement, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare wrote:

From time to time, healthcare systems around the county offer bonuses to encourage their employees to stay – in this case to incent them not to become travel nurses during the pandemic. Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare implemented an initiative, offering a bonus to staff in high demand roles in exchange for a two-year commitment to remain with the organization in those select roles.

Employees who chose to participate agreed to meet specific requirements, including remaining in a qualifying role with the organization, or the bonus would have to be repaid. Every individual was fully educated about the requirements and signed a commitment letter, indicating that they understood their obligation.

As the initiative ends, we are in the process of alerting those who did not fulfill the commitment and will work with them on a payment plan. With bonus programs like this, stringent regulatory requirements must be followed once eligibility criteria is established, including not treating any group of individuals different from another. The program successfully stabilized our workforce during a time of tremendous turnover. We are grateful to our employees for their dedication and commitment to Methodist Le Bonheur and its communities and we will continue to work together to provide highest quality care in the region.

-Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare

Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare officials say nurses can pay back bonuses through checks or money orders or make arrangements to take it from their paychecks.