Mandatory Overtime for Healthcare Workers
Wilke, Fleury, Hoffelt, Gould & Birney, LLP - Healthcare Newsletter

With rising shortages in the ranks of nurses and other healthcare workers, many employers are demanding that these employees work mandatory overtime hours. It is estimated that 67 percent of American nurses work either mandatory or unplanned overtime each month. Health industry labor unions claim that mandatory overtime has contributed to poor working conditions in the healthcare field and has caused many healthcare workers to abandon their professions. In addition, these advocates claim that exhausted workers are putting patients' safety at risk. In contrast, individuals who oppose the idea of legislative limits on mandatory overtime argue that mandatory overtime is an issue that should be left to the collective bargaining process and that mandatory overtime is justified when patient care would suffer.

Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington have passed legislation restricting mandatory overtime for healthcare workers. The laws do not apply to physicians, and some of these laws apply only to licensed nurses. The New Jersey law applies to all hourly workers who provide patient care or clinical services, including nurses, nurses' aides, pharmacists, therapists, and laboratory technicians. The Minnesota and Oregon laws do not place an outright ban on mandatory overtime, but limit how much mandatory overtime can be imposed. All of the states' laws permit voluntary overtime and provide protection against retaliation for workers who refuse mandatory overtime. Many of these laws contain exceptions for emergency situations.

The United States Congress is considering two bills banning mandatory overtime for healthcare workers. The Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act would prohibit nurses from working in excess of their scheduled shifts, more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period or 80 hours in a consecutive 14-day period. The Registered Nurses and Patients Protection Act would prohibit mandatory overtime for all healthcare workers, except physicians; it would bar covered healthcare workers from working in excess of 8 hours in any 24-hour period or more than 80 hours in a consecutive 14-day period. Both bills provide exceptions for "emergencies," but neither bill defines that term.

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