Help! (Act 102 violation/reporting in PA)

[Momma1stRN2nd]

I've read Act 102 numerous times now, and I'm 99% sure that my employer is violating the terms. Here's the deal...it's a small community hospital with a (relatively speaking) busy maternity unit. The unit has it's own OR for c sections. Self scheduling is done 4 weeks at a time. After the schedule is finalized, each part time employee is required to pick up 8-12 hours of additional on-call time, and each full time employee is required to pick up 4-8 hours of additional time. If the unit is busy, or if there is a call-off, or if there is an unplanned c-section, the charge nurse will call other staff to try to get someone to come in. If that is unsuccessful (which it usually is, since we are already being required to pick up additional hours) then they call in the "back-up" on call staff. This unit has not used agency nurses, and has very few per diem nurses to call.

A.) Does this violate Act 102?

B.) If so, is there a way to ANONYMOUSLY report it? (there is also a strong history of retaliation by the clinical leader and nurse manager - we've lost nearly 20% of our nurses over the past 2 years because of the way the staff are treated. (including inappropriate assignments, and charges of "bullying" where they won't tell the nurse what they said, when they said it, or who is accusing them.) We've already gone to HR - they say there is nothing they can do.

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

Hummmm.....looking at the law

Act 102 will not prevent an employee from working more than an 8-hour shift if the this shift is agreed to and regularly scheduled.

It does not prohibit overtime for on-call time, if certain unforeseeable emergent circumstances occur (e.g. unforeseeable national or state emergencies; highly unusual or extraordinary event affecting the need for health care services; and unexpected absences discovered at or before the commencement of a scheduled shift which could not be prudently planned for by a health care facility and which could significantly affect patient safety) where the employer provides notice, the facility exhausts reasonable efforts under Act 102 and the additional hours are a last resort, mandatory overtime is also allowed if an employee must complete a patient care procedure already in progress at the end of regularly-scheduled shift. Act 102 does not prevent an employer from providing employees more protection from mandatory overtime than the minimum established under this act.

On call time may not be utilized as a substitute for mandatory overtime or as a means of circumventing this law. Vacancies resulting from chronic short staffing do not constitute an unforeseeable emergent circumstance allowing the use of mandatory overtime.

I'm on the fence. They might be within the law. However, IF they are doing this because of chronic under staffing which is in violation of the law. If however they make a "reasonable effort" to cover the sick call...they are within the law

Check out this link....it also links to a complaint report. http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=614498&mode=2

ps....HR IS NOT YOUR FRIEND!