NY Mandatory Overtime Bill questions

Nurses General Nursing

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First off...thanks to all nurses who fought to get this bill enacted. I am a relatively new nurse who is exhausted with all the mandation. Where I work, they use it as a form of scheduling. In other words, they abuse mandation with no thought to us as human beings who want to go home to our families. Anyway, I am trying to get as educated about the law as possible. My boss seems to think it does not pertain to LTC facilities. What recourse do we have if our facility is non-complient with the law? That is the direction I think we are going. I have a call out to my State Board of Nursing but they have not called back. Does anyone have any links to information? I am tired and truely fear making a serious med error. I work 3-11 and get mandated 11-7. It is scary to do insulins at 600 when I am tired and my mind feels "fuzzy". Thanks.

good link metfan..i'm keeping that one in my favorites. :up:

i think one of the problems is that preparing is going to cost facilities a little more money and require a lot more planning. for example having a few more in the float pool and a few more agency staff on call will help. but that cost $$$. its not like you won't be able to find things for them to do. ;) how about planning for the 1st day of school when you know 1/2 your staff is going to call off??? it happens every year and they don't plan for it.

northernrose, we are unionized too, and i don't believe a union can require you to do something that violates state labor laws. i would see if you can a union rep and see what they have to say.

i think some of these places are hoping some of us aren't going to be up on the law and will just stay out of fear.

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Specializes in Oncology.

I work on a closed unit. I wonder if they'll still have to attempt getting floats before mandating us.

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I work on a closed unit. I wonder if they'll still have to attempt getting floats before mandating us.

They have to plan ahead and accomodate for call-ins. That would mean pulling from agency, floats or extra staff. Even if they can't get a float, they cannot mandate you unless it is an emergency. And lack of planning on their part is not an emergency. Metfan's link is really informative if you get a chance to read it. Its from the New York State Department of Labor. :up:

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i forgot..there is such thing as a patient care emergency, but that still does not apply to improper planning of the part of the employer:

a "patient care emergency" means a situation that is unforeseen and could not be prudently planned for, which requires the continued presence of the nurse to provide safe patient care. before requiring an on-duty nurse to work beyond his or her regularly scheduled work hours to address a patient care emergency, the health care employer must make a good faith effort to have overtime covered on a voluntary basis by utilizing all methods set forth in its nurse coverage plan. the health care employer must document attempts to secure nurse coverage through use of phone logs or other records appropriate to this purpose.

an employer cannot deem a situation a patient care emergency if that circumstance is the result of routine nurse staffing needs due to typical staffing patterns, levels of absenteeism, and time off typically approved by the employer for vacation, holidays, sick leave, and personal leave, unless an acceptable nurse coverage plan has been followed but failed to produce staffing to meet the particular routine nurse staffing need.

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Just out of curiousity, what has you facility come up with for their "Nurse Coverage Plan"?

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Specializes in Oncology.
Just out of curiousity, what has you facility come up with for their "Nurse Coverage Plan"?

Voluntary OT and higher nurse to patient ratios.

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I have not been able to find a Nurse Coverage Plan except for the phone number of an agency. However, what they have been doing is offering insentives for the current nurses to pick up overtime. It is a pretty good insentive and many nurses have signed up for overtime. They can also sign up for 4 hours extra a shift. Many people like 12 hour shifts and the extra 4 hours pay really well. My employer would rather pay our current nurses extra than hire agency. Makes sense to me and has been working well. They also have started using an agency which is also working out. So far...so good. I have not been mandated since the start of the bill. To be honest, I may pick up an extra 4 hours once in awhile when I can. The difference is it would be my choice. I hate being told I have to stay. Metfan

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I have not been able to find a Nurse Coverage Plan except for the phone number of an agency. However, what they have been doing is offering insentives for the current nurses to pick up overtime. It is a pretty good insentive and many nurses have signed up for overtime. They can also sign up for 4 hours extra a shift. Many people like 12 hour shifts and the extra 4 hours pay really well. My employer would rather pay our current nurses extra than hire agency. Makes sense to me and has been working well. They also have started using an agency which is also working out. So far...so good. I have not been mandated since the start of the bill. To be honest, I may pick up an extra 4 hours once in awhile when I can. The difference is it would be my choice. I hate being told I have to stay. Metfan

that, indeed, is the difference....yes?

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Laughs!! Yes that is indeed the difference! I have never been one to take being told I HAVE to do something without a bit of fuss (to put it mildly). The first weekend of the no mandation, a nurse called in, leaving day shift short. I volunteered to stay because the nurse on helps my shift out by covering. If management made it more about team work..and ALL nurses being part of that team, there would be less 'fuss' about staying over, helping out.

Our 'plan' currently consists of a sign up sheet, and a list of all the nurses who work at the facility to be called. Whether they answer their phone is another story. No incentives that I'm aware of. Anything over 8 hours is OT anyways.

I think the frosting on the cake, is that short staffing has been going on for well over 3 years. It isn't something we are just starting to deal with as floor nurses. Management keeps telling us, they are aware of the problem and it's being dealt with. They however work M-F, and take any time off they want. Yes, I know they have more responsibility in the running of the facility, but it seems like us floor grunts always get the bad end of the stick.

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Yes. That is indeed the difference. Nicely put Northernrose. If management had some respect and compassion for their employees, I would help out much more. There are certain supervisors that I would do anything for because they are great leaders and I respect them entirely. They actually listen to me and my concerns. They respect my opinion. They have become friends. Like you said, teamwork. I think that is forgotten sometimes. Our insentive is not only OT and shift differential but 20% more on top of that. I still think it is cheaper than agency. Metfan

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Just out of curiousity, what has you facility come up with for their "Nurse Coverage Plan"?

I went down next to our nursing office to see if they had posted the plan...not yet. They still have the mandation list up and some article explaining patient abandonment that they have had up for ages. I did talk to the nursing supervisor about "the plan". They have been told that if they have to mandate, they have to call the DON at home. Of course by the time they realize the need, the staff they are trying to mandate will have left. This won't really affect us on the night staff since we work short ever now and then already. At 11:00 you really can't find staff if someone calls in late or they made a mistake on the staffing board. But it will prevent us from being forced to work day shift if we are tired.

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