BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT & RETIREMENT BILL NO: AB 2155
Norma Torres, Chair HEARING DATE: June 23, 2014
AB 2155 (Ridley-Thomas) as introduced 2/20/14
FISCAL: YES
NURSES AND CERTIFIED NURSE ASSISTANTS: OVERTIME
HISTORY :
Sponsor: Service Employees Union International (SIEU),
Local 1000
Other legislation: AB 1184 (Koretz) 2005
Vetoed by the Governor
ASSEMBLY VOTES :
PER & SS 5-1 4/23/14
Appropriations 12-5 5/23/14
Assembly Floor 53-24 5/28/14
SUMMARY :
This bill prohibits mandatory overtime for state employees
employed as registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses,
and certified nursing assistants (CNAs) in state hospitals
and facilities, except under the following circumstances:
1) When a nurse or CNA is participating in a surgical
procedure and that procedure is still in progress or has
not been completed.
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 nurses or
CNAs to attend to the patients without resorting to
mandatory overtime.
BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS :
1)Existing law :
Glenn A. Miles
Date: June 13, 2014 Page
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a) 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.
b) 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.
c) 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.
1)This bill :
a) defines a "nurse" as all classifications of
registered nurses represented by State Bargaining Unit
(BU) 17, or the Licensed Vocational Nurse
classifications represented by BU 20.
b) defines a "certified nursing assistant" (CNA) as all
CNA classifications represented by BU 20.
c) defines a "facility" as a mental hospital, youth or
adult correctional facility, developmental center,
veteran's home, school, or worksite in which a nurse or
CNA works as an employee of the state.
d) prohibits a facility from requiring a nurse or CNA to
work in excess of a regularly scheduled workweek or work
shift, except as provided.
e) 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.
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f) provides that the overtime prohibition does not apply
in the following situations:
i) to any nurse or CNA participating in a surgical
procedure until that procedure is completed; or,
ii) if a catastrophic event occurs in a facility
where both of the following apply:
(1) 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,
(2) the catastrophic event is an unanticipated
and nonrecurring event.
g) specifies that nothing in these provisions shall be
construed to affect the Nursing Practice Act, the
Vocational Nursing Practice Act, or a registered nurse's
duty under the standards of competent performance.
FISCAL :
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
Annual General Fund (GF) costs greater than $3.0 million
to the Department of State Hospitals (DSH) and the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR) to
hire additional nurses to cover the hours currently
worked as mandatory overtime; additional GF costs likely
to hire additional CNAs.
For example, annual GF costs to DSH of approximately
$1.2 million based on the following:
1) During 2013, registered nurses and licensed
vocational nurses worked approximately 54,000
mandatory overtime hours at total cost of overtime pay
of approximately $2.3 million.
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2) Covering the 54,000 hours previously worked as
mandatory overtime would require DSH to hire
approximately 27.5 additional full-time nurses at an
estimated annual cost of $3.5 million, with the
difference representing the net cost to the
department.
COMMENTS :
1)Background
a) Purpose. According to the author, mandatory overtime
is a practice used by hospitals and health care
institutions to maintain adequate numbers of staff
nurses through forced overtime, often with a total of
twelve to sixteen hours worked. This bill bans
mandatory overtime for public sector nurses and CNAs.
The use of mandatory overtime for nurses in the private
sector was banned in 2001 through wage orders from the
Industrial Welfare Commission. State and public sector
nurses were exempted from this order.
b) According to the author, mandatory overtime may cause
or lead to increased stress on nurses and CNAs, less
patient comfort, and mental and physical fatigue among
nurses and CNAs, contributing to errors and
"near-misses" with medications and case-related
procedures. According to information provided by the
author, West Virginia, Illinois, Connecticut,
Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, Minnesota, Maine,
Maryland, Alaska, and Massachusetts have laws
prohibiting the use of mandatory overtime as a general
staffing practice.
c) 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.
2)Arguments in Support :
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According to the American Nurses Association/California
(ANA/C),
This bill would prohibit a registered nurse from working
mandatory overtime, a practice, banned for all nurses in
California, except for registered nurses in the public
sector. This dangerous practice may lead to an increase
in workplace errors, staff's health risks, safety
issues, unsafe staffing practices, and jeopardizes the
state's recruitment and retention of nurses. Overall,
employing the use of mandatory overtime for registered
nurses leads to a decrease in the quality of care.
AB 2155 encourages a safe civil service system, promotes
patient and staff safety that results in major cost
savings for the state. Furthermore, AB 2155 supports
the state's recruitment and retention of nurses.
3)SUPPORT :
Service Employees Union International (SIEU), Local 1000,
Sponsor
American Nurses Association/California (ANA/C)
California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA)
California Labor Federation (CLF)
4)OPPOSITION :
None.
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Date: June 13, 2014 Page
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