No more Mandatory Overtime in West Virginia for nurses

Blackcat99 · Mar 12, 2004

That's great news! I use to live in West Virginia but left 2 years ago due to mandatory overtime issues. I couldn't even answer my phone when I lived in West Virginia.Supervisors were always calling me on my days off telling me they were mandating me to come in and do mandatory overtime on my days off. :angryfire

pickledpepperRN · Mar 13, 2004

Such a GOOD thing!

No more fatigued nurses forced to work OT.

No more nurses unable to concentrate on patients due to worry about their family.

HURRAY!

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Mar 13, 2004

Met with my State Representative Thomas Gannon today who just happens to chair PA State Professional licensing board and made sure he heard about MOT legislation passing in W VA and my feelings on staffing ratios. He listened attentively and presented him with my business card. Also praised him for his website and emails.

Will follow-up with a letter on Monday thaking him for his time---hopes that gets my message across.

pickledpepperRN · Mar 13, 2004

Met with my State Representative Thomas Gannon today who just happens to chair PA State Professional licensing board and made sure he heard about MOT legislation passing in W VA and my feelings on staffing ratios. He listened attentively and presented him with my business card. Also praised him for his website and emails.
Will follow-up with a letter on Monday thaking him for his time---hopes that gets my message across.

GOOD WORK!

I hope you get a ban on mandatory overtime!

We have a ban on mandatory OT. A worker can be mandated up to 2 hours for an 8 hour shift or 1 hour for a 12 hour shift if there is no one to relieve them. This was meant for when there is a no show.

There is also a penalty for missed meal and rest breaks. Nurses are refusing to take a break unless there is a qualified RN to take report and provide care to the patients for the nurse on break.

As one nurse said, "I'd just like to see the discipline me for refusing to leave my patients."

For each break missed the nurse is, by law, to get and hour of pay up to 2 hours per shift in addition to any OT for working after the shift. The state also imposes a penalty on the employer if staff does not get a break. I don't know the amount but on units where the nurses put in for missed breaks they get the needed staff.

Units where most nurses eat near the nurses station constantly interrupted and call THAT a break they are poorly staffed.

A committee I am on got the records of breal relief. The paper said the manager or supervisor was covering breaks. Even when she was attending a meeting where I was too!

Well, get the law.

THEN make sure it is enforced.

IVyPush-her · Oct 15, 2004

hi

i am a nursing student writing a mock letter to my legislator as an assignment. i chose to write about the mandatory overtime issue. congratulations on the passing. my question is.. do you know of any studies so far that prove a decline of errors because of this new law? i am at a standing point in my letter because i thought i would include some sort of positive outcome but i can not find anything. i would really appreciate any input on where to find such information.

thanks in advance to all who are able to respond.

julie

west virginia bill restricting nurse overtime signed
into law
----------------------------------------------------------
3/05/04
west virginia governor bob wise has signed a bill that
beginning may 17 will prohibit hospitals from requiring
nurses to work overtime except in emergency situations,
such as natural disasters, terrorism or disease outbreaks.
http://www.nursingworld.org/news/ananews.htm#sb251
w.va. outlaws forced overtime for nurses
gov. bob wise signed into law wednesday a bill barring private hospitals from forcing nurses to work overtime...