05 LC 18
4477
House
Bill 919
By:
Representatives Brown of the
69th
and Gardner of the
57th
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and
industrial relations, so as to provide for the comprehensive regulation of
overtime obligations of nurses; to provide for a short title; to provide for
legislative findings; to provide for definitions; to provide for employment
circumstances prohibiting mandatory overtime; to provide for employment
circumstances permitting mandatory overtime; to provide for certain requirements
and prohibitions with respect to employers; to provide for related matters; to
repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Title
34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to labor and industrial
relations, is amended by adding a new chapter immediately following Chapter 3 to
be designated as Chapter 3A to read as follows:
"CHAPTER
3A
34-3A-1.
This
chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Nurse Involuntary Overtime
Act.'
34-3A-2.
The
Georgia General Assembly finds that requiring registered professional nurses and
licensed practical nurses to work beyond regularly scheduled hours increases the
possibility that fatigue and stress may cause errors in the delivery of patient
care. In order to minimize the potential harm caused by such lapse in patient
safety, it is a declaration of public policy that nurses providing direct
patient care in health care facilities shall not be required, as a condition of
employment, to work beyond a predetermined work schedule.
34-3A-3.
For
purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1)
'Employer' means a health care facility licensed or permitted under Title
31.
(2)
'Nurse' means a person licensed as either a registered professional nurse or a
licensed practical nurse under Chapter 26 of Title 43.
(3)
'Overtime' means hours worked in excess of a predetermined work
schedule.
(4)
'Predetermined work schedule' means a regular and systematic duration of work
hours set at no more than 12 hours of work per daily shift and no more than 40
hours of work in a calendar week.
34-3A-4.
(a)
Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section, an employer
shall not require a nurse to work more than the regularly scheduled hours
according to a predetermined work schedule.
(b)
A nurse may be required to work overtime if:
(1)
The work is a consequence of an emergency situation which could not have been
reasonably anticipated by the employer;
(2)
The emergency situation is nonrecurring and is not caused by or aggravated by
the
employeŕs
inattention or lack of reasonable contingency planning;
(3)
The employer has exhausted all good faith and reasonable attempts to obtain
voluntary nurses during the succeeding shifts;
(4)
The nurse has critical skills and expertise which are required for the work;
and
(5)
The accepted protocol and standard of care for a patient assignment requires
continuity of care through completion of a case, treatment, or
procedure.
(c)
In addition to the provisions of subsection (b) of this Code section, a nurse
may be required to work overtime if a condition of employment includes on-call
rotation or a written employment arrangement agreed to by the nurse and the
employer.
(d)
This Code section shall not be construed to prohibit a nurse from voluntarily
agreeing to work more than the number of hours set forth in a predetermined work
schedule, provided that such agreement is not achieved through threats,
intimidation, or coercion by the employer against the nurse.
34-3A-5.
(a)
An employer shall exhaust all good faith and reasonable attempts to ensure that
appropriate staff is available to accept responsibility for a
patient́s
care beyond a
nursés
predetermined work schedule.
(b)
Except as provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of Code Section 34-3A-4, a
nurse shall not be considered responsible for the care of a patient beyond the
nursés
predetermined work schedule if the nurse:
(1)
Has notified another appropriate nurse of the
patient́s
status; and
(2)
Has transferred responsibility for the
patient́s
care to another appropriate nurse or properly designated
individual.
(c)
An employer shall provide a nurse with written instructions detailing the
employeŕs
procedure for notifying another nurse of a
patient́s
status and transferring responsibility for a
patient́s
care to another appropriate nurse or properly designated individual. A nurse who
performs in accordance with the written instructions of the employer shall be
deemed to have acted in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code
section.
34-3A-6.
Notwithstanding
any provision in this chapter to the contrary, an employer shall not discipline
a nurse for refusing to work more than 12 consecutive hours during the course of
a single work shift. An employer which requires a nurse to work more than 12
consecutive hours shall schedule the nurse to have at least 12 consecutive hours
of off-duty time immediately following the time worked beyond a
nursés
predetermined work
schedule."
SECTION
2.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.