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Nursing OT bill nears passage
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BY ROBERT SWIFT
HARRISBURG BUREAU CHIEF
HARRISBURG — A bill to ban mandatory overtime for nurses appears headed to final passage during the brief fall legislative session.
The Senate Labor and Industry Committee unanimously approved the House-passed measure Tuesday after adding a compromise amendment providing exceptions for emergencies. The committee vote led panel Chairman Sen. John Gordner, R-27, and statewide nursing union leaders to predict the bill will become law within a few weeks.
“I think we can get it to the finish line,” Mr. Gordner said.
Kathleen Magaro, SEIU Healthcare’s coordinator for the Nurse Alliance of Pennsylvania, supports the compromise and expects Gov. Ed Rendell to sign the bill.
“It’s a very positive step toward protecting patients,” she said.
The organization is part of the Service Employees International Union.
Sen. James Ferlo, D-38, a panel member, said the bill helps people on Main Street at a time when the nation is preoccupied with Wall Street.
The bill faces a Senate floor vote and concurrence vote in the House.
The measure would allow nurses, nurses’ assistants and direct patient caregivers at all health care facilities in Pennsylvania to volunteer for overtime, but requires that those who refuse overtime not be disciplined or discharged. The ban covers private and public hospitals, nursing homes, state mental retardation centers and prisons.
The overtime issue has been before the Legislature for a half-dozen years.
Supporters of banning mandatory overtime say it will reduce medical errors, persuade nurses who left the profession to renew their licenses and encourage young people to become nurses. The health care industry is concerned that a strict ban would leave them short-staffed during unforeseen emergencies or unusual situations.
The key compromise brokered by Mr. Gordner enables employers to require overtime in cases in which unexpected absences or work call-outs discovered before a work shift could affect patient safety.
The compromise defines an emergency as a terrorist act, natural disaster, widespread disease outbreak or extraordinary and unpredictable event that increases the need for health services.
The aim of the bill can be achieved even with the compromise, said SEIU spokeswoman Lisa Williams.
“The bill will stop the use of mandatory overtime as a tool to deal with staff shortages,” she added.
Mr. Gordner began discussions several weeks ago to see if a compromise could be reached.
He said call-out provisions are a key feature of labor contracts between hospitals and SEIU and decided to add them to this bill.
The senator said he is concerned that Mr. Rendell’s recent decision to impose a hiring freeze for state government could affect staff levels at state-owned hospitals and centers once a mandatory overtime ban goes into effect.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com
The Senate Labor and Industry Committee unanimously approved the House-passed measure Tuesday after adding a compromise amendment providing exceptions for emergencies. The committee vote led panel Chairman Sen. John Gordner, R-27, and statewide nursing union leaders to predict the bill will become law within a few weeks.
“I think we can get it to the finish line,” Mr. Gordner said.
Kathleen Magaro, SEIU Healthcare’s coordinator for the Nurse Alliance of Pennsylvania, supports the compromise and expects Gov. Ed Rendell to sign the bill.
“It’s a very positive step toward protecting patients,” she said.
The organization is part of the Service Employees International Union.
Sen. James Ferlo, D-38, a panel member, said the bill helps people on Main Street at a time when the nation is preoccupied with Wall Street.
The bill faces a Senate floor vote and concurrence vote in the House.
The measure would allow nurses, nurses’ assistants and direct patient caregivers at all health care facilities in Pennsylvania to volunteer for overtime, but requires that those who refuse overtime not be disciplined or discharged. The ban covers private and public hospitals, nursing homes, state mental retardation centers and prisons.
The overtime issue has been before the Legislature for a half-dozen years.
Supporters of banning mandatory overtime say it will reduce medical errors, persuade nurses who left the profession to renew their licenses and encourage young people to become nurses. The health care industry is concerned that a strict ban would leave them short-staffed during unforeseen emergencies or unusual situations.
The key compromise brokered by Mr. Gordner enables employers to require overtime in cases in which unexpected absences or work call-outs discovered before a work shift could affect patient safety.
The compromise defines an emergency as a terrorist act, natural disaster, widespread disease outbreak or extraordinary and unpredictable event that increases the need for health services.
The aim of the bill can be achieved even with the compromise, said SEIU spokeswoman Lisa Williams.
“The bill will stop the use of mandatory overtime as a tool to deal with staff shortages,” she added.
Mr. Gordner began discussions several weeks ago to see if a compromise could be reached.
He said call-out provisions are a key feature of labor contracts between hospitals and SEIU and decided to add them to this bill.
The senator said he is concerned that Mr. Rendell’s recent decision to impose a hiring freeze for state government could affect staff levels at state-owned hospitals and centers once a mandatory overtime ban goes into effect.
Contact the writer: rswift@timesshamrock.com
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