August 4th, 2009

Reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

A new state law to curb forced overtime for nurses and other direct patient care hourly workers has spawned both differing interpretations of when exceptions apply and worries that hospitals may work short-staffed.

Just one month after the law went into effect, many say it is too soon to know exactly how it will play out. But already, one thing is clear: Parties looking at the same law sometimes see different meanings.

The Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Health Care Act, which took effect July 1, states that a health care facility may not require staff members to work overtime except under certain, specific circumstances such as a natural disaster, a widespread disease outbreak or an act of terrorism.

Another exception is for “unexpected absences, discovered at or before the commencement of a scheduled shift, which could not be prudently planned for by an employer, and which would significantly affect patient safety.”

Neal Bisno, president of SEIU Health Care Pennsylvania, said this applies to only truly exceptional circumstances, such as a group of nurses carpooling to work and getting into a traffic accident. One nurse calling off at the last minute does not qualify, he said.

“The exception is for unexpected absences — in the plural — that can’t be prudently planned for and that would significantly affect patient safety,” he said. “Even in those rare instances, health-care employers are required to use forced overtime as a last resort and to exhaust reasonable efforts to avoid it.”

But Paula Bussard, senior vice president at the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, says the exception can apply if one nurse calls off.

“If a nurse calls off shortly before the start of shift, that’s an unexpected absence. What if it’s a nurse with highly specialized skills?” she asked.

Read more about the different interpretations of the law, and why more action might be needed, at the Post-Gazette.