Assembly Passes Legislation As Part Of Three-Way Agreement To Eliminate Mandatory Overtime For Nurses

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Labor Committee Chair Susan John announced that the Assembly unanimously passed legislation last night, as part of an agreement with the Governor and the Senate, to eliminate mandatory overtime for nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities, including those operated by the State.

The bill (A.11711), sponsored by Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, would restrict the consecutive hours of required work for nurses to eliminate mandatory overtime and help attract and retain nurses at hospitals and other facilities.

"The Assembly Majority has a long tradition of fighting for health-care safety, particularly when it comes to protecting our nurses. New York State nurses are overburdened, overworked, overstressed, overextended, under paid, under appreciated, under staffed and all too often under siege," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "We must guarantee that our nurses are not over worked to the point where fatigue detracts from patient care. We will continue to work together to ensure our dedicated nurses are able to give the best care possible for patients across New York."

"New York State's nurses continue to provide high quality care even as they are often forced to skip meals, breaks and sacrifice their own health for the care of the patient," said Assembly Labor Committee Chair Susan John (D-Rochester). "When nurses are forced to work beyond regularly scheduled shifts, to the point of physical and mental exhaustion, they put themselves at risk to provide knowledgeable care to their patients. This is a great step in protecting our nurses, our patients, and the future of healthcare facilities."

"Nurses work in a demanding, stressful environment where proper decision making is a critical function of the job. We cannot attract the professionals we need, and we cannot give patients the kind of quality care they deserve when we have exhausted nurses working well past reasonable limits. The passage of this legislation will lift the unfair burden that has been placed on nurses and provide better care for patients who deserve the best care possible," said Gunther (D-Forestburgh).

This legislation would:

• Require health care employers to limit nurses on-duty time to be no longer than their regularly scheduled shift;

• Retain the ability of a nurse to voluntarily work overtime; and

• Take effect in one year, giving health care employers, including State facilities, time to plan for implementation by increasing recruitment efforts, advancing flexible work schedules, and obtaining contracts for temporary services.