Vermont S 277: An act relating to prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses

Bill Text

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S.277 1
Introduced by Senator Gulick 2
Referred to Committee on 3
Date: 4
Subject: Labor; employment practices; minimum wages; mandatory overtime 5
Statement of purpose of bill as introduced: This bill proposes to prohibit 6
mandatory overtime for nurses except in emergency circumstances. 7
An act relating to prohibiting mandatory overtime for nurses 8
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: 9
Sec. 1. 21 V.S.A. § 388 is added to read: 10
§ 388. PROHIBITION ON MANDATORY OVERTIME FOR NURSES 11
(a) Policy. The purpose of this section is to promote patient safety, protect 12
the health of nurses, and improve working conditions in hospitals and long-13
term care facilities for nurses providing direct patient care or clinical services 14
to patients by prohibiting mandatory overtime. 15
(b) Definitions. As used in this section: 16
(1) “Employer” means a hospital or a long-term care facility. 17
(2) “Hospital” means a place devoted primarily to the maintenance and 18
operation of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for inpatient medical or 19

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surgical care of individuals who have an illness, disease, injury, or physical 1
disability, or for obstetrics that is licensed or required to be licensed pursuant 2
to 18 V.S.A. chapter 43. 3
(3) “Long-term care facility” means a residential care home, nursing 4
home, assisted living residence, home for persons who are terminally ill, or 5
therapeutic community residence that is licensed or required to be licensed 6
pursuant to 33 V.S.A. chapter 71. 7
(4) “Mandatory overtime” means work that is required of a nurse by an 8
employer in excess of an agreed-upon, predetermined, regularly scheduled 9
shift, provided that in no case shall the predetermined and regularly scheduled 10
number of hours exceed 12 hours in any 24-hour period or 48 hours in any 11
workweek. 12
(5) “Nurse” means a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse 13
required to be licensed pursuant to 26 V.S.A. chapter 28, subchapter 1, and 14
who receives an hourly wage and has direct responsibility to oversee or carry 15
out nursing care in a hospital or a long-term care facility setting. 16
(6) “On-call time” means time spent by a nurse who is not working but 17
who is compensated for being available. 18
(c) Prohibition on mandatory overtime. No nurse shall be required to work 19
mandatory overtime. A nurse may not be disciplined for refusing to work in 20
excess of an agreed-upon, predetermined, regularly scheduled shift but may be 21

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disciplined for refusing to work mandatory overtime if any of the exceptions to 1
the prohibition on mandatory overtime pursuant to subsection (d) of this 2
section apply. 3
(d) Exceptions to prohibition on mandatory overtime. Notwithstanding 4
subsection (c) of this section, the prohibition against mandatory overtime shall 5
not apply if: 6
(1) a federal, State, or local state of emergency has been declared; 7
(2) the nurse is actively engaged in an ongoing medical or surgical 8
procedure and the continued presence of the nurse through the completion of 9
the procedure is necessary to the health and safety of the patient; or 10
(3) an unforeseen disaster or other catastrophic event occurs that 11
substantially affects or increases the need for health care services. An 12
unforeseen disaster or catastrophic event is one that does not occur regularly, 13
increases the need for nurses to provide safe patient care, and could not be 14
prudently anticipated by the employer. It does not include situations in which 15
the employer fails to have sufficient nursing staff to meet the usual and 16
predictable nursing needs of its patients. 17
(e) Good faith effort required. If an employer determines that an exception 18
exists pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the employer shall make a 19
good faith effort to meet the staffing need through voluntary overtime or 20
calling per diems and agency nurses before requiring mandatory overtime. 21

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(f) On call time. The provisions of this section shall not apply to on-call 1
time, but an employer may not use on-call time as a substitute for mandatory 2
overtime. 3
(g) Voluntary overtime. A nurse may voluntarily agree to work overtime. 4
(h) Off duty. Any nurse who works more than 12 consecutive hours, as 5
permitted by this section, must be allowed at least 10 consecutive hours off-6
duty immediately following the worked overtime. 7
(i) Collective bargaining agreements. Nothing in this section shall be 8
construed to limit, alter, or modify the terms, conditions, or provisions of a 9
collective bargaining agreement entered into between an employer and a labor 10
organization representing nurses. 11
Sec. 2. 21 V.S.A. § 389 is added to read: 12
§ 389. REPORT