BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 780
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
780 (Mendoza)
As Introduced February 27, 2015
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 22-11
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|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public |5-1 |Waldron, Cooley, |Wagner |
|Employees | |Cooper, Cristina | |
| | |Garcia, O'Donnell | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |14-5 |Gonzalez, Bloom, |Bigelow, Gallagher, |
| | |Bonilla, Bonta, |Jones, Obernolte, |
| | |Calderon, Daly, |Wagner |
| | |Eggman, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, | |
| | |Quirk, Santiago, | |
| | |Weber, Wood, McCarty | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SB 780
Page 2
SUMMARY: Prohibits mandatory overtime for psychiatric
technicians (PTs) or psychiatric technician assistants (PTAs) in
state hospitals or facilities, except as specified.
Specifically, this bill:
1)States that it is the intent of the Legislature to, among
other things, prohibit a state facility that employs PTs or
PTAs from using mandatory overtime as a scheduling tool, or as
an excuse for fulfilling an operational need that results from
a management failure to properly staff those state facilities.
2)Prohibits a facility from requiring a PT or PTA to work in
excess of a regularly scheduled workweek or work shift, except
as provided.
3)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
will not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge
or other penalty and do not constitute patient abandonment or
neglect.
4)Specifies that in order to avoid the use of mandatory overtime
as a scheduling tool, management and supervisors must consider
employees to fulfill the additional staffing needs of a
facility in the following priority order:
a) First priority will be given to employees who volunteer
or agree to work hours in addition to their regularly
scheduled workweek or work shift.
b) Second priority will be given to individuals who are
part-time or intermittent employees.
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c) Third priority will be given to employees who are on
call or on standby.
5)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.
c) If an emergency situation occurs.
6)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
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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.
7)Defines a "facility" as any facility that provides clinically
related health services that is operated by the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), the
Department of State Hospitals (DSH), or Department of
Developmental Services (DDS) in which a PT or PTA works as an
employee of the state.
8)Defines "management or supervisor" as any person or group
whose duties and responsibilities include facilitating
staffing needs.
9)Defines "on call or standby" to mean alternative staff who are
not working on the premises of the facility and who are either
compensated for their availability or who have agreed to be
available to come to the facility on short notice if the need
arises.
SB 780
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10)Defines a "PT" or "PTA" as all classifications of psychiatric
technician or psychiatric technician assistant.
11)Specifies that nothing in these provisions shall be construed
to affect the Psychiatric Technicians Law or a PT's or PTA's
duty under the standards of competent performance.
12)States that these provisions do 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.
EXISTING LAW:
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.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, "Estimated annual costs of $5.7 million General Fund
(GF) and Special Fund (SF) to DDS, $17 million GF to the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), and $7.1
million GF and SF to DSH for additional employees that will
replace existing mandatory overtime hours. While there will be
potential offsetting savings to each department for not paying
overtime, these savings are not fully known."
COMMENTS: According to the current state bargaining unit
contract with state bargaining unit (BU) 18 (Psychiatric
Technicians), the following applies:
1)Except in cases of emergency, employees shall not be required
to work mandatory overtime:
a) More than six mandated overtime shifts of at least two
hours duration in a month, or
b) In excess of 16 hours continuously, or
c) In excess of two overtime shifts within an employee's
scheduled work week, or
d) 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
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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.
According to a Little Hoover Commission Report issued in April
of 2016, "Last year, nursing staff working in state facilities
clocked 3.75 million hours of overtime at a cost of $179
million." The bipartisan citizens commission found the state's
overtime is four times the national average -18% of state
nursing staff pay is for overtime as compared to an average of
4% nationally for registered nurses and health care workers.
According to the Commission, "Most of that overtime for the
nurses and psychiatric technicians working in state facilities
was voluntary, some 80%, but staff was forced to work 417,226
hours of overtime, an archaic staffing solution all but
abandoned in the private and other public health care
facilities."
According to the author, "The private sector has banned the
practice of mandatory overtime for nursing staff back in 2001;
however, the state was exempt from the prohibition. The Little
Hoover Commission in its report "Time and Again: Overtime in
State Facilities" found state nursing staff work over 3.75
million hours of overtime with 20% being mandatory.
Additionally, Psych Techs at the Department of State Hospitals
alone worked 1.2 million hours of overtime in the 14"-15" fiscal
year, and 700,000 hours in the first two quarters of the 15"-16"
FY [Fiscal Year]. The same ratio of 20% mandatory overtime
existed for BU 18 members. This study shed light on the
damaging impacts mandatory overtime has on patients and staff
working under these conditions. The staff is exhausted and
makes medical errors that can have a dramatic impact on the
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patients under their care and jeopardizes the license they
hold."
The author concludes, "Furthermore, state collective bargaining
contracts set the limitations which mandatory overtime may be
utilized. For BU 18, the limitations are: no more than six
times in a month, no more than twice in a week, never on back to
back days, and never on a staff members Friday. Unfortunately,
the state has routinely violated the contract forcing the union
to file grievance after grievance. In each case, the union has
won their grievances; however, the remedy the state offers is to
"not do it again". Unfortunately, they have. The Governor
vetoed AB 2155, stating that this was a matter best left to
collective bargaining. Unfortunately, this issue has been
brought up in collective bargaining before with no movement from
the administration. This bill is the only way to ensure that
the state staffs its facilities appropriately to provide
excellent patient care."
Supporters state, "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 overtime
can cause an exhausted PT to practice unsafe patient care,
jeopardizing their psychiatric technician licensure status."
Opponents state that they have "?significant concerns with the
impact of prohibiting mandatory overtime for PT and PTA staff
with respect to both the quality and consistency of care for DC
(developmental center) residents and the substantial costs that
would be incurred."
AB 840 (Ridley-Thomas) of the current legislative session,
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prohibits, beginning January 1, 2017, mandatory overtime for
registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses, or certified
nursing assistants who are employed in state hospitals and
facilities. This bill is currently pending in the Senate.
AB 2155 (Ridley-Thomas) of 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. 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 was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger
because the state was already having a difficult time recruiting
and training nurses for state hospitals.
Analysis Prepared by:
Karon Green / P.E.,R., & S.S. / (916) 319-3957
FN:
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