Governor Expected To Ban Mandatory OT for Nurses

By MIA GOLDBERG

Governor Paterson is expected to sign a bill that was passed by both legislative houses banning mandatory overtime for nurses in hospitals and other health-care facilities.

KENNETH BRYNIEN: 'A long overdue reform.'

"By prohibiting mandatory overtime, this bill will help increase the quality of care nurses are able to provide to patients," the Governor said in a June 19 statement. "Additionally, the legislation will allow our facilities to retain and recruit a vital nursing workforce."

No Cap on OT Work

The legislation forbids employers from forcing licensed practical nurses or registered professional nurses to work more than their regularly scheduled hours, and refusal to do so will not constitute "professional misconduct .. patient abandonment or neglect."

It does not cap the number of hours nurses are allowed to work on a daily or weekly basis, nor does it preclude employees from volunteering or requesting extra work. Exceptions to the ban will apply in the following circumstances: in the wake of natural disasters, during a governmental declaration of emergency, if a nurse is engaged in an ongoing surgical or medical procedure, or if patient care would be jeopardized in the absence of other staffing alternatives.

Once signed, the bill would not take effect for a year, "giving health-care employers, including state facilities, time to plan for implementation by increasing recruitment efforts, advancing flexible work schedules, and obtaining contracts for temporary services," said Gov. Paterson.

Ken Brynien, president of the Public Employees Federation, said in a June 19 statement that his union had been fighting for nearly a decade for this legislation.

"No one wants to be the patient being cared for by a nurse, exhausted after being forced to work overtime," Mr. Brynien said. "This is long overdue and will go a long way toward fixing a broken health-care system. Mandatory overtime forced far too many nurses to leave their calling."

During a rally last month attended by hundreds of nurses, he said, "Almost 30 percent, or 69,000 of the 237,000 registered nurses licensed in New York, are choosing not to practice in large part because of mandatory overtime."

"If you're a nurse, the prospect of working mandatory overtime puts you in a difficult position," said Barbara Crane, a registered nurse and president of the New York State Nurses Association Delegate Assembly, in a statement following the rally. "If you leave, you could be charged with patient abandonment and [face] loss of your license, your career, and your livelihood. If you stay, you are working in fear of not being as sharp as you need to be and making a mistake that could cost some poor innocent soul their life. We already have laws and regulations to set the maximum hours for airline pilots, train engineers, and truck drivers. Why is there nothing for nurses?"

14 States Ban Forced OT

New York stands to become the 15th state to pass such a law, along with California, Missouri, Texas, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and West Virginia.

PEF represents 58,000 professional public employees, including more than 8,500 registered nurses who work in the state's 70 correctional facilities, three State University of New York hospitals, 28 New York State Office of Mental Hygiene facilities, the Roswell Park Cancer Institute and other state agencies. The NYSNA is the largest union representing registered nurses, with 36,000 members.