Mandated :(

Asystole RN · Jul 15, 2012

Email your BON explaining the situation, and the frequency of your extra hours. There comes a point when you are physically unsafe to work, and you must be relieved. Staffing is the responsibility of the hospital administration!! Get the board's opinion of this all in writing, or email so you know what your options are. It may be helpful to discuss what they said at a staff meeting- you will not be charged with abandonment if you give notice to the hospital that you CANNOT stay. Don't let them blackmail you with the loss of license crap.

To work beyond one's capacity to the point of exhaustion and unsafe practice is the fault of the individual. The employee-employer relationship is a voluntary one and should the conditions of the working environment be unacceptable then it is in the power of the employee to either change the conditions of employment or terminate the relationship.

Only the individual can identify their limits as to where unsafe practice begins. For some, working more than 6 hours a week would push them past their limit, for others 60 is well within their means.

It is always the individual nurse's responsibility to maintain their own safe practice, no one can force you into an unsafe situation since the nurse-patient relationship is a voluntary one that must be first accepted by the nurse before the contract is struck.

Be adults, take care of your own problems, your parents are not here to tell you when bedtime is anymore.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2012

i understand your husbands frustration. you aren't coming home when expected and he misses you. the ana has a statement about mandated ot for nurses and some states have passed laws. it isn't fair to have that much mandating in a short period of time and they need to be held accountable. the joint commission is interested in safe staffing and give staffing plan to the jc. http://www.jointcommission.org/report_a_complaint.aspx

mandatory overtime is one of the many workplace issues that may be contributing to nurses leaving the workforce. overtime is defined as the hours worked in excess of an agreed upon, predetermined, regularly established work schedule, as identified by contract; usual scheduling practices; policies or procedures.
concern for the long term effects of overtime leading to fatigue include potential for diminished quality of care, errors or near misses, as well as the negative impact on the care-givers health. research indicates that risks of making an error are significantly increased when work shifts are longer than 12 hours, when nurses worked overtime, or when they worked more than 40 hours per week.[1] other industries have been aware for many years of the links between fatigue and accidents, mistakes, errors and near errors. for instance, the airline and trucking industries limit the number of hours pilots and truck drivers can fly/drive. they also require a certain number of hours between "flights" or "runs".
to help nurses make the case against working when fatigued, the ana has added this issue to its' nationwide state legislative agenda the support of state laws and regulations prohibiting the use of mandatory overtime as well as pursued federal legislation
ana's position on mandatory overtime may be found at its ana workplace advocacy page.
introduced during 2011 - 2012
florida hb 305 / sb 454 protections included in this staffing bill, referred to as the florida hospital patient protections act.
illinois hb 1164 provides that no nurse working for a state agency who is paid an hourly wage and who has direct responsibility to oversee or carry out nursing care or related duties may be required to work mandated overtime except in the case of an unforeseen emergent circumstance when such overtime is required only as a last resort, and limits the time of such overtime. also stipulates if a nurse works 12 consecutive hours, the nurse must be allowed at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time before returning to duty. protects nurses from retaliation if refusing mandated overtime.
massachusetts hb 1469, sb 543 ,sb 539, sb 1151 restricts use of mandatory overtime, as a provision of a much broader bill that includes staffing, safe patient handling and other areas. hb 1506 also includes definition for mandatory overtime and it restricted use for federal or state emergencies and affords protections from retaliation for refusing. hd 1294, sd 1768, sb 2210.
new york ab 410 seeks to add existing protections for home care nurses. sb 1134 includes language in safe staffing for hospital care act
pennsylvania sb 438 the health care facilities act, restricts the use of mandatory overtime to fulfill the staffing ratios outlined in the bill.
vermont hb 313 includes restrictions to use of mandatory overtime and provides for penalties in this predominantly safe patient handling bill.
states with restrictions
sixteen states have restrictions on the use of mandatory overtime for nurses
fourteen identified restrictions in law: ak, ct, il, md, mn, nj, nh, ny, or, pa, ri, tx, wa, and wv, while two states have provisions in regulations: ca and mo.
mandatory overtime

BrandonLPN, LPN · Jul 15, 2012

I'm fine with working with the risk of being mandated, if it means we never run short. Where I work, you can count on being mandated once a week, but once you've put in your double shift you're good for seven days. And where I work EVERYONE is mandatable. If they run out of CNAs to mandate, a nurse has to take the mandation. On weeks were there's a lot of call offs, the unit manager might be forced to stay over to take a CNA assignment on 3-11!

RNperdiem, RN · Jul 15, 2012

What would happen if you refused to work over?

What is the worst they would do to you? Fire you so you could get a better job elsewhere when they are already short staffed?

No actual advise, just something to think about.

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2012

the case law on this is clear: an emergency is an emergency, but when a facility has a pattern of doing this week after week month after month, that demonstrates poor management, not the existence of an emergency. therefore a nurse who is fired for "abandonment" for refusing mandated overtime has a legitimate reason to sue for lost wages, as there is no emergency.

chevyv, BSN, RN · Jul 16, 2012

I hate being mandated!! Happens to me every once in awhile. I couldn't imagine going through it as often as you. That place is really going to be short staffed if they don't get everything up and running quickly. Seems they could have thought this one out a bit better. I too would be looking for a different position if it keeps up. I really hate being mandated.

Almost cried last time. I work pms and had been up getting my children off to school at 0700. Had to work straight through to 0715 the next day. I kept thinking that I was too old for this crap.

seabiscuitRN · Aug 8, 2012

I work in a small (8 bed) specialty unit. We use mandated overtime. During our busy time, about November-March, it is common to be mandated for 16-hour shifts more than once a week. We work 3-day weekends, and we can pretty much count on at least one of them turning into 18 hours. One of our nurses was mandated to work 16 hours on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday over the course of one weekend. Over one 5-day strectch, we had mandated a nurse more than 20 times. We also do mandated EARLY overtime, such as if you are scheduled to work at 1900, they can "mandate" you to come in at 1500. I put that in quotes because since I'm not on call, I don't "have to" be available.

Anyway, I'm posting here partly just to vent, because I'm considering leaving a job that I otherwise love. And partly, I'm wondering if anybody reading this also works in a small unit like this and can offer suggestions. We do have a float pool at our hospital. I have been told that scheduled call "won't work" on our unit but nobody can really tell me why; I assume it's that we are such a small unit that we would all probably have to do 8-12 hours of call a week just to get one extra nurse available around the clock. Many times, there is more than one of us mandated at the same time.

AAAARGH!!! HELP!

vintage_RN, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2012

Your husband is a jerk and a moron.

Wow, that's a little judgemental. Sometimes people get frustrated and angry at situations, not saying its right for him to yell and swear at her...but no one is perfect. Sheesh.

Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 8, 2012

i work in a small (8 bed) specialty unit. we use mandated overtime. during our busy time, about november-march, it is common to be mandated for 16-hour shifts more than once a week. we work 3-day weekends, and we can pretty much count on at least one of them turning into 18 hours. one of our nurses was mandated to work 16 hours on friday, saturday, and sunday over the course of one weekend. over one 5-day stretch, we had mandated a nurse more than 20 times. we also do mandated early overtime, such as if you are scheduled to work at 1900, they can "mandate" you to come in at 1500. i put that in quotes because since i'm not on call, i don't "have to" be available.
anyway, i'm posting here partly just to vent, because i'm considering leaving a job that i otherwise love. and partly, i'm wondering if anybody reading this also works in a small unit like this and can offer suggestions. we do have a float pool at our hospital. i have been told that scheduled call "won't work" on our unit but nobody can really tell me why; i assume it's that we are such a small unit that we would all probably have to do 8-12 hours of call a week just to get one extra nurse available around the clock. many times, there is more than one of us mandated at the same time.
aaaargh!!! help!

wow....just wow. that's a ton of mandating. i think the facility is taking advantage of wisconsin's labor law that openly allows and encourages mandatory ot. they actually use it as a staffing tool. paying a nurse overtime is cheaper than hiring another trained nurse with benefits. if they put you "on call" they are mandated by state law to pay call pay. why pay call pay when it is perfectly legal and encouraged by your states labor laws to force you to work whatever your facility requires.

before you leave your position make sure the other facility doesn't have as much mot as you already have......at least here you love your job. the nurses union in wisconsin is working to eliminate mandatory ot...but you see how that worked for the teachers.http://wfnhp.aft.org/index.cfm?action=article&articleid=dc4198ec-2bac-484a-807d-5bb57159c4e0

wow that is a ton of ot.......:hug:

over 40 hours workedthe law requires that employers pay time and one-half the regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in the workweek.
a "week" is the employer's established regular reoccurring period of 7 consecutive days. employers may schedule employees any way they wish. this means that overtime may be made mandatory. since employers may schedule as they see fit, they may also change employees' schedules during a given week in order to prevent them from working overtime in that week.
sick leave, vacation pay, holiday pay hours paid for time not worked, such as sick leave, vacation pay or holiday pay, do not count as hours worked for purposes of computing overtime pay.
other than in those situations, though, overtime is not required for work performed on a particular day of the week – only after 40 hours in a workweek.

the nurses union in wisconsin is trying to get laws passed against mandatory ot. in 2000 a law failed to pass at the federal level to prevent/limit mandatory ot. since that time

15 states have either banned mandatory overtime or have passed laws restricting its use in healthcare facilities. (the 15 states include: california, connecticut, illinois, maryland, minnesota, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, texas, washington and west virginia.)

the ana'sposition statement.

[color=#1122cc]ana state government affairs on mandatory overtime