BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT AND RETIREMENT
Dr. Richard Pan, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 780 Hearing Date: 4/13/15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Mendoza |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |2/27/15 As introduced |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|Pamela Schneider |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: State psychiatric technicians and psychiatric
technician assistants: overtime
SOURCE: California Association of Psychiatric Technicians
DIGEST: This bill prohibits mandatory overtime for a state
employee employed as a psychiatric technician (PT) or a
psychiatric technician assistant (PTA) in a state hospital or
facility, except under the following circumstances:
1) When a PT or PTA is participating in a surgical
procedure and the PT's or PTA's presence through the
completion of the procedure is needed to ensure the health
and safety of the patient.
2) When an unanticipated and non-recurring catastrophic
event has occurred and results in such a large number of
patients in need of immediate medical treatment that the
facility is incapable of providing sufficient PTs or PTAs
to attend to the patients without resorting to mandatory
overtime.
3) When an emergency situation occurs.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes, as the general policy of the state, the workweek
SB 780 (Mendoza) Page 2 of ?
of state employees to be 40 hours, and the workday of state
employees to be 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 Acts, provides a
statutory framework for the State and its represented
employees to collectively bargain over all issues impacting
wages and working conditions
This bill:
1)Defines "emergency situation" to mean any of the following:
a) Unforeseeable declared national, state, or municipal
emergency.
b) A highly unusual or extraordinary event that is
unpredictable or unavoidable and that substantially affects
providing needed health care or increases the need for such
services, which includes the following:
i) an act of terrorism;
ii) a natural disaster;
iii) a widespread disease outbreak;
iv) an emergency declared by a specified official of the
facility, or an emergency requiring assistance of an
outside agency.
1)Defines a "facility" as any facility that provides clinically
related health services that is operated by the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of State
Hospitals, or Department of Developmental Services in which a
PT or PTA works as an employee of the state.
2)Defines "on call or standby" to mean alternative staff who are
not working on the premises of the facility and who are either
SB 780 (Mendoza) Page 3 of ?
compensated for their availability or who have agreed to be
available to come to the facility on short notice if the need
arises.
3)Defines a "PT" or "PTA" as all classifications of psychiatric
technician or psychiatric technician assistant.
4)Prohibits a facility from requiring a PT or PTA to work in
excess of a regularly scheduled workweek or work shift, except
as provided.
5)Defines "management or supervisor" and requires management
staff to fulfill additional staffing needs in a specified
order with first priority given to employees who volunteer for
overtime, second priority given to part-time or intermittent
employees, and third priority to employees on call or on
standby.
6)Authorizes a PT or PTA to volunteer to work extra hours, but
specifies that the refusal by a PT or PTA to work such hours
shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge
or other penalty and shall not constitute abandonment or
neglect.
7)Provides that the overtime prohibition does not apply in the
following situations:
a) To any PT or PTA participating and needed in a surgical
procedure until that procedure is completed.
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
PTs or PTAs to attend to the patients without resorting
to mandatory overtime; and,
ii) the catastrophic event is an unanticipated and
nonrecurring event.
a) If an emergency situation occurs.
1)Specifies that nothing in these provisions shall be construed
SB 780 (Mendoza) Page 4 of ?
to affect the Psychiatric Technicians Law or a PT's or
PTA's duty under the standards of competent performance.
2)States that these provisions shall not preclude a facility
from hiring part-time or intermittent employees or prevent a
facility from providing more protections against mandatory
overtime than required by this section.
3)States the intention of the Legislature to ensure a process in
state health care facilities to avoid mandatory overtime and
to prohibit the use of mandatory overtime as a scheduling
tool, as specified.
Background
According to the current state bargaining unit contract with
bargaining unit 18, the following applies:
Except in cases of emergency, employees shall not be required to
work mandatory overtime:
1) More than six mandated overtime shifts of at least two (2)
hours duration in a month, or
2) In excess of sixteen (16) hours continuously, or
3) In excess of two overtime shifts within an employee's
scheduled work week, or
4) On two consecutive calendar days.
In addition, the contract requires that employees will not be
required to work mandatory overtime on their regularly scheduled
days off or during scheduled vacation or leave times except in
specified emergency situations. Management is also required to
find employees who are willing to volunteer for overtime before
mandating overtime for employees who do not wish to work
overtime.
However, the contract allows employees to be mandated to perform
overtime when no volunteers are available and all eligible
employees are already performing overtime in accordance with
facility policy. Finally, the contract prohibits the employees
from striking.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 840 (Ridley-Thomas, 2015) prohibits mandatory overtime for
SB 780 (Mendoza) Page 5 of ?
state employees employed as registered nurses, licensed
vocational nurses, and certified nursing assistants in state
hospitals and facilities. This bill is currently in the
Assembly Public Employees, Retirement and Social Security
Committee.
AB 2155 (Ridley-Thomas, 2014) would have prohibited mandatory
overtime for state employees employed as registered nurses,
licensed vocational nurses, and certified nursing assistants in
state hospitals and facilities. The bill was vetoed by Governor
Brown, stating that AB 2155 "covers matters more appropriately
settled through the collective bargaining process."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: No
SUPPORT:
California Association of Psychiatric Technicians (source)
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
According to the sponsor:
Currently, psychiatric technicians in private sector
employment cannot be mandated to work overtime;
unfortunately, the state government is exempt from this
regulation.
Mandatory overtime practices can 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
also ignores the responsibilities psych techs have at home
with children, other family members, or with other
obligations. Furthermore, being forced into excessive
SB 780 (Mendoza) Page 6 of ?
overtime can cause an exhausted PT to practice unsafe
patient care, jeopardizing their psychiatric technician
licensure status.
The regard to the State's use of mandatory overtime for PTs and
PTAs, the author states:
State facilities routinely violated the collective
bargaining agreement with BU 18. While grievances have
been filed and granted, the state continues to violate the
contract with impunity as there are no repercussions or
deterrents for violating the contract.
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.
California should do more to promote optimal quality
patient care, decrease workplace health and safety errors,
and increase the ability of the state to recruit and retain
of PT's.