New legislation would limit mandatory nurse overtime- National Nursing Legislation

Asserting that mandatory nurse overtime compromises patient safety and drives nurses out of the profession, Reps. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) have introduced legislation that would strictly limit the practice. Under the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act—which has been endorsed by the American Nurses Association (ANA), the AFL-CIO, and several other labor organizations—facilities would be barred from requiring nurses to work overtime except when federal, state, or local officials declare a state of emergency.

The new stipulations would be incorporated into Medicare’s provider agreements, although nursing homes would be exempt because “there are alternative staffing and quality measures moving forward for those facilities,” according to Stark’s office. The proposed legislation would also protect nurses from discrimination by employers who continue to mandate overtime and provide HHS with the authority to enforce the standards.

According to Stark, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee’s health subcommittee, the United States has regulations that “limit the time that truck drivers and pilots work to protect public safety;” he says that “safe nursing is in the public interest as well.” The president of the ANA adds that the legislation provides “much needed guidelines for hospitals, protects nurses, and ensures safer patient care”

(Stark release, 5/5; CQ HealthBeat, 5/4).