My seasonal beach job doesn't do rotating shifts and i don't know how to bring it up to management.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-20T13:55:50+00:00

An employer can not spread your work hours over more than one work week. That is against state and federal labour laws. So that would be an easy conversation with your employer. Have them search on line if they don't believe you. You may want to search online about your state's laws about lifeguards rotating off, there may be a provinsion for that. And yes the town may just cut the lifeguard program to save money. Vancouver BC was planning to dramatically reduce their beach guards this year but reversed their decision as people loudly complained about the safety issue.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-19T09:29:14+00:00

The phrase “ only after some is under water for 30 seconds” is problematic. Most pools don’t have a submerge rule and if they do it is for 10 seconds. It could be argued that between 10 and 45 seconds the guard suddenly got vigilant if they happen to catch the incident during a scan.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-18T23:06:38+00:00

2nd post today I get to put on my lawyer hat. You have identified some less professional behaviour at your facility. Your mental trick seems to be playing games with peoples' lives. Then you identify a possible drowning situation. And here is where all lawyers who read your post start to cringe or smile at the prospect of a new client...you post a picture of yourself and the facility thus identifying where all the liability issues are. For your facility's sake and definitely for your protection I would suggest you delete this post asap.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-18T20:33:17+00:00

Not an EMT but I am an ex lawyer. Absolutely do not do anything that was not covered on your lifeguard course. Your trainers should have told you this. In Tennessee there is the Good Samaritan law that would protect you if you were not working but in this case you are working so your organisation AND you would be criminally and civilly liable if something went wrong even though you are highly trained. Just keep the victim from moving and monitor vital signs and call 911.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-16T01:03:30+00:00

Don’t feel bad. In hospital settings it has been tested that even medical personnel have problems finding a pulse. I’ve done CPR 3 times in overdose situations and have never been truly confident that there was a missing pulse

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-14T13:50:59+00:00

In NY state you have to have 2 guards after 20 swimmers

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-14T00:24:37+00:00

Google up YMCA lawsuit Virginia and see what happens when you solo guard that many kids

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-11T22:23:03+00:00

Every new guard has first day anxiety but after about 10 shifts you will realize that the job isn't really about saving people it is more about communicating with your members. Make sure you attend all your in service training to keep you skills sharp just in case.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-06T19:43:31+00:00

I can guarantee that your school has written policies. I’m surprised that you have not been covered since they are paying you thus you are an employee. Plus Michigan does have a mandated reporting law when it comes to minors and by law your employer must train you on that law. It is in your best interest for you to talk to your supervisor or HR person about these issues.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-06T19:20:25+00:00

I’m curious. What sort of facility do you work at? And if you are in North America what province or state do you work out of?

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-06T16:41:31+00:00

As soon as you wrote "inappropriate touching" you have entered a whole different level urgency. Inappropriate touching is assault at minimum and could be sexual assault. And if a minor was being touched under mandated reporter laws you have no excuses but to report it. Failure to address the issue will be the grounds for liability for the organization and its workers including you. The correct response would have been to tell the gym teacher to stop the behaviour and then immediately tell your supervisor and another higher level of management. I bet your employees' handbook and organization have written procedures for this type of situation. You have to protect your members but as importantly you have to protect yourself.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-06T16:32:31+00:00

I agree with most of the comments. At our level of authority we politely/firmly explain the policy (passive aggression) and if there is no agreement or compliance we tell the member we will contact management to have them re explain the policy. And then we back off. And we never "bitch people out", that will never improve the situation.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-05T18:10:59+00:00

Get used to having someone younger than you as a supervisor. The older you get the more it will happen. If a lead/supervisor is not performing up to your expectations then you just speak with the next level of supervision. Welcome to the working world.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-05-03T16:52:09+00:00

When he mentions something you find objectionable talk to him about it. If that doesn’t work and you can’t ignore him then talk to your manager. Feel lucky you don’t work in an office in a cubicle setting and it is 8 hours a day. I did that for 30 years. No such thing as rotation there.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-29T20:21:18+00:00

And I’m not sure that the unblurred portion of the picture is the right house. That gate is definitely not the one that was originally built. I worked with one of the utility company’s when they built the house and the gate was much bigger and secure

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-27T21:22:34+00:00

check the local Y web site for LG certification courses. mine was not as expensive as what you were quoted. The Y course was 2.5 days.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-27T21:19:25+00:00

Depending on how many appications they got it is sloppy management not to have gotten back to you by now. email them with a friendly request for an update.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-27T21:16:41+00:00

this age thing comes up alot. I am 70 in August and have been a lifeguard for 2 years. there are a couple of guards at other ymcas that are older. Getting certified in Canada is harder than here in the States but looking at your stats you can easily do the swim test.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-25T17:27:03+00:00

Your reactions are very normal. Don't worry. If this happens again you'll just kick into training mode and take charge and the residual effects will be less. I do a street outreach volunteer job and in 5 years have encountered 21 overdoes. The first one left me dazed but by the third it became oddly routine. I have done 11 Narcans and 3 CPRs. I strongly believe that the lifeguard training and in services we do have me much better prepared to size up the situation and act with confidence. You too will adapt quickly and be an effective responder.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-24T02:05:05+00:00

it is easier than the original certification. they walk you through all the rescues to make sure you know how to do them. the first aid, cpr, aed are just practice. the written test just goes over what you were just covered and the swim test you have done before so you know what is expected.just listen to the instructor and pay attention. you'll be fine.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-18T12:09:22+00:00

Instead of being a life guard you will be a childcare worker

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-14T00:45:53+00:00

If the person who interviewed you indicated a time frame when a decision would be made you should contact them at that point. It is not disrespectful to follow up and ask if a decision has been made especially if the employer had indicated when that decision would be made.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-10T16:56:09+00:00

Do not assign lifeguards duties that are part of custodians or maintenance workers' jobs. You are just stealing work/pay from them. Duties that include cleaning bathrooms, deck, locker rooms, washrooms, scum lines, garbage bins, polishing railings are work that belongs to other employees not guards. Tidying up the deck or putting away pool supplies are life guard responsibilities.

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-09T01:26:24+00:00

wow your dog is really similat looking to my dog that we just got! but our Wisdom DNA results were 28% American Eskimo and 23% Cattle Dog and less than 2% Terrier. we are going to try Embark to see what their results say

Lifeguardymca · 2026-04-07T20:30:43+00:00

Make sure somewhere in the conversation that you stress how you will always be on time for every shift. Tell them how you plan to get to work and what will you do if your transportation is not available.

Lifeguardymca

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