SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2689        FILED ON: 7/13/2010

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2543

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Ten

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An Act to prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the 2008 General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:

Section 222. As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context requires otherwise, have the following meanings:          

“Hospital”, a hospital licensed under section 51 of chapter 111, the teaching hospital of the University of Massachusetts medical school, a licensed private or state-owned and state-operated general acute care hospital, or an acute care unit within a state-operated facility; provided, however, that “hospital” shall not include a licensed non-acute care hospital classified as an inpatient rehabilitation facility, an inpatient psychiatric facility, an inpatient substance abuse facility, or a long term care hospital  by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.          

“Nurse”, a registered nurse licensed under section 74 of chapter 112 or a licensed practical nurse licensed under section 74A of said chapter 112.          

“Overtime”, the hours worked by a nurse to deliver patient care, beyond the predetermined and regularly scheduled hours.         

(a) A hospital shall not require or permit a nurse to work more than 12 hours in any given shift or to exceed 16 hours in a 24 hour period. A nurse may not be disciplined, dismissed or discharged for refusing to work beyond the hours specified in this paragraph. A nurse who works 12 consecutive hours in a shift shall be given at least 8 hours off from any work between shifts.  For the purposes of this paragraph, it shall not be the responsibility of the employer to ensure that a nurse has not violated the limitation of hours worked as specified in this section except for those hours worked in the employment of the employer.  Nurses shall solely be responsible for certifying with the board of registration in nursing compliance with the provisions of this subsection during their applicable licensure renewal period. 

(b)A hospital shall be limited to using mandatory overtime for emergency situations where the safety of a patient requires its use and when there is no reasonable alternative.

(c) The department of public health shall, on or before July 1, 2011, promulgate regulations to implement the requirements of this section. These regulations shall include a system to levy an administrative fine on any hospital that violates this act or any regulation issued under this act. The fine shall be less than $100 and not greater than $1,000 for each violation.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, alter or modify the terms, conditions or provisions of a collective bargaining agreement entered into by the hospital.