Forced Overtime for Nurses: Prohibited by Law

Registered nurses and licensed vocational nurses in Texas hospitals are no longer required to work overtime. The law took effect last Tuesday that made Texas the 15th state to ban the practice of forcing nurses to work more than 12 hours. Fernando Losada, Director of the National Nurses Organizing Committee, said

It's very, very important for patient safety in Austin, Texas. It was implemented thru a group which was a part of the California Nurses Association, a union which upholds legislators for the law.

Jim Willmann, General Counsel and Director Of Governmental Affairs for the Texas Nurses Association in Austin, said that hospitals must have enough employees on duty in case of emergencies. The law recently implemented also reinforces that hospitals cannot staff their facilities based on mandatory overtime, this was based on the rule set by Texas Department of State Health Services in 2002. Because of the shortage of nurses, RNs are required to work overtime. But many hospitals are unwilling to oblige their nurses to work overtime because it only results to a less-than-desirable work environment. Tangula Taylor, Director of Nursing at Texas Children's Hospital, said

The hospital has what it calls a float pool to provide supplemental staffing. When a nurse can't come in for a scheduled shift, a floater is assigned. Also, nurse educators and nurse managers can cover a shift if necessary.