BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 840
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
840 (Ridley-Thomas)
As Introduced February 26, 2015
Majority vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Public |6-1 |Bonta, Waldron, |Wagner |
|Employees | |Cooley, | |
| | |Jones-Sawyer, | |
| | |O'Donnell, Rendon | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Appropriations |12-5 |Gomez, Bonta, |Bigelow, Chang, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Gallagher, Jones, |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo |Wagner |
| | |Garcia, Gordon, | |
| | |Holden, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Prohibits, beginning January 1, 2017, mandatory overtime
for registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses (LVNs), or
certified nursing assistants (CNAs) who are employed in state
hospitals and facilities. Specifically, this bill:
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1)Defines a "nurse" as all classifications of registered nurses
represented by State Bargaining Unit (BU) 17, or the LVN
classifications represented by BU 20.
2)Defines a "certified nursing assistant" as all CNA
classifications represented by BU 20.
3)Defines a "facility" as a facility providing clinically related
health services that is operated by specified state departments
in which a nurse or CNA works as an employee of the state.
4)Defines "emergency situation" as an unforeseeable declared
national, state, or municipal emergency or a highly unusual
event that is unpredictable or unavoidable that affects the
health care services, as specified.
5)Prohibits a facility from requiring a nurse or CNA to work in
excess of a regularly scheduled workweek or work shift, except
as provided.
6)Authorizes a nurse or CNA to volunteer to work extra hours, but
the refusal by a nurse or CNA to work such hours shall not be
grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge or other
penalty or patient abandonment or neglect, as specified.
7)Provides that the overtime prohibition does not apply in the
following situations:
a) To any nurse or CNA participating in a surgical procedure,
as specified;
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b) If a catastrophic event occurs in a facility where both of
the following apply:
i) The catastrophic event results in such a large number
of patients in need of immediate medical treatment that the
facility is incapable of providing sufficient nurses or
CNAs to attend to the patients without resorting to
mandatory overtime; and,
ii) The catastrophic event is an unanticipated and
nonrecurring event.
c) If an emergency situation occurs.
8)Specifies that nothing in these provisions shall be construed to
do any of the following:
a) Affect the Nursing Practice Act, the Vocational Nursing
Practice Act, or a registered nurse's duty under the
standards of competent performance.
b) Prevent the hiring of part-time or intermittent employees.
c) Prevent a facility from providing more protections against
mandatory overtime than the minimum protections established
by this bill.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Establishes, as the general policy of the state, the workweek of
state employees to be 40 hours, and the workday of state
employees eight hours, except that workweeks and workdays of a
different number of hours may be established in order to meet
the varying needs of the different state agencies.
2)States that it is the policy of the state to avoid the necessity
for overtime work whenever possible. This policy does not
restrict the extension of regular working-hour schedules on an
overtime basis in those activities and agencies where it is
necessary to carry on the state business properly during a
manpower shortage.
3)Under the provisions of the Ralph C. Dills Act, provides a
statutory framework for the state and its represented employees
to collectively bargain over issues impacting wages and working
conditions.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, annual General Fund (GF) costs greater than $3 million
to the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to hire additional nurses to cover
the hours currently worked as mandatory overtime; additional GF
costs likely to hire additional CNAs.
COMMENTS: According to the author,
Mandatory overtime is the practice of hospitals and health
care institutions to maintain adequate numbers of staff nurses
through forced overtime, usually with a total of 12 to 16
hours worked, and with as little as one hour's notice. This
bill seeks to ban mandatory overtime for public sector RNs,
LVNs, and CNAs. The use of mandatory overtime for nurses in
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the private sector has been banned since 2001 through wage
orders from the Industrial Welfare Commission. State and
public sector nurses were exempted from this order.
Mandatory overtime may cause or lead to increased stress on
the job, less patient comfort and mental and physical fatigue
that can contribute to errors and 'near-misses' with
medications and case-related procedures. The practice of
mandatory overtime ignores the responsibilities nurses may
have at home with children, other family members, or other
obligations. Being forced into excessive overtime can cause
an exhausted RN to practice unsafe patient care, jeopardizing
her nursing licensure status.
According to information provided by the author, the States of
West Virginia, Illinois, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon, New
Jersey, Minnesota, Maine, Maryland, Alaska, and Massachusetts all
have laws prohibiting the use of mandatory overtime as a general
staffing tool.
The author concludes, "The continued practice of mandatory
overtime in California places the state in the position of undoing
its hard work in the training, recruitment and retention of public
sector nurses by fostering a dangerous work environment.
Additionally, the use of mandatory overtime as a scheduling tool
creates no incentive for the state to properly hire, schedule or
retain staff. Lastly, this policy opens up the state to costly
lawsuits due to inadequate care and/or medical errors due to
fatigue."
Supporters state, "AB 840 is a good governance bill that
encourages a strong civil service system by streamlining the
mandatory overtime requirements for all nurses in California,
resulting in major cost savings for the state; and increased
staff, patient and public safety."
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This bill is similar to AB 2155 (Ridley-Thomas) of 2014, which was
vetoed by the Governor. In his veto message, the Governor stated,
in part, "This bill would prohibit mandatory overtime for nurses
in state facilities. This measure covers matters more
appropriately settled through the collective bargaining process."
In 2005, a similar effort to ban mandatory overtime was proposed
in AB 1184 (Koretz) and vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger because
the state was already having a difficult time recruiting and
training nurses for state hospitals.
There is no opposition on file.
Analysis Prepared by:
Karon Green / P.E.,R., & S.S. / (916) 319-3957
FN: 0000593