Another Front

Bill would limit nurses’ hours | Boston Globe | 2.15.05

Senator Edward M. Kennedy proposed legislation last week that calls for up to $10,000 in civil penalties against hospitals that force nurses to work extra hours after completing a shift.

Under the bill, nurses would be allowed to work overtime voluntarily, but their employers could not require that they work extra hours after a shift unless an official state of emergency is declared by the federal, state, or local government. …

The bill also would give the US Department of Health and Human Services authority to investigate nurses’ overtime complaints and to fine violators. The department could also increase fines against repeat violators. …

Kennedy’s bill was filed about seven months after a 2004 study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing revealed that nurses who worked 12.5 hours or longer were three times more likely to make errors than nurses who worked a regular shift of about 8½ hours. …

Two fronts in the nurse staffing war:

• Mandatory Ratios
• Non-Mandatory Overtime