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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Robert E. Belfanti, Jr. |
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Ban on mandatory overtime for health-care workers takes effect July 1
HARRISBURG, June 25 – As of Wednesday, hospitals and other health-care facilities in Pennsylvania will be prohibited from forcing nurses and other health-care workers from working overtime shifts as a routine staffing procedure, said state Rep. Robert E. Belfanti Jr.
Belfanti, who is chairman of the House Labor Relations Committee and a co-sponsor of the legislation that was passed and signed into law last year, said the state Department of Labor and Industry will enforce the law through its Bureau of Labor Law Compliance. The department has added a section to its Web site that includes Act 102, a summary of the law's provisions, a complaint form for health-care workers to report violations and a list of "frequently asked questions" about the law. The Web site is at www.dli.state.pa.us; click on the "Act 102 - Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act" link.
As of July 1, Pennsylvania will join 14 other states that prohibit or restrict mandatory overtime for hourly or non-supervisory health-care workers involved in direct patient care or clinical care services.
"Nurses and other health-care workers provide the bulk of care that patients receive in hospitals and other health-care facilities," Belfanti said. "This new law isn't just about improving working conditions for them. It's also about larger issues such as patient safety, ensuring adequate staffing in Pennsylvania hospitals and reducing the cost of health-care for everyone. Health-care workers who are overworked are not only more likely to make mistakes, but also to leave the profession. It is important for health-care workers to understand the new law, how it protects them, and what recourse they have if the law is not being followed."
Act 102 prohibits health-care facilities in Pennsylvania from requiring health-care workers from working in excess of their agreed-to, pre-determined and regularly scheduled work shift. The law also prohibits health-care facilities from retaliating in any way against nurses and other health-care workers who do not agree to work overtime.
The law makes exceptions for emergencies such an unforeseeable declared national, state or municipal emergency; highly unusual or extraordinary events which are unpredictable and which substantially affect the provision of or need for health-care services, such as terrorism, a natural disaster or widespread disease outbreak; unexpected absences discovered at or before the start of a scheduled shift which could not be prudently planned for and which could significantly affect patient safety; and for instances where workers must stay to complete a patient care procedure already under way. The law also does not prohibit a health-care worker from agreeing voluntarily to work overtime.
Belfanti said the Bureau of Labor Law Compliance will develop regulations to implement the law, but will begin enforcing the law on July 1 regardless of whether the regulations have been fully established. Under the law, the department may require corrective action and impose administrative fines of up to $1,000 on a health-care facility for each violation. He urged nurses and other health-care workers, as well as health-care facility administrators, to visit the Labor and Industry Web site for more information on Act 102, its implementation and their rights under the new law.
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