Legislative Update

Alabama Nurse, Jun-Aug 2003

The Alabama State Nurses Association is pushing legislation this year which would prohibit hospitals and nursing homes from requiring nurses to work excessive overtime.

Titled the "Alabama Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act," the legislation defines "excessive overtime" as more than 12 hours on the job in a 24-hour period. However, the legislation prohibits only mandatory, excessive overtime and would not prohibit a nurse who felt she was able to continue to work beyond 12 hours from doing so.

"Many nurses are concerned about the quality of care they are able to give when they've been working more than 12 hours straight," said Don Eddins, ASNA attorney and lobbyist. "They are concerned not only for the safety of the patient but also with regard to liability."

Eddins said ASNA surveys indicate mandatory overtime is among the very top issues which concern Alabama nurses.

HB600 has been introduced in the Alabama House of Representatives by Rep. George Perdue, D-Birmingham, and is to be pushed in the Senate by Sen. Hinton Mitchem, D-Albertville.

Perdue, an auditor with the University of Alabama in Birmingham who has been involved in health care for many years, said that the measure makes sense from a safety standpoint.

"This legislation is about caring for the patient. Those persons who are confined to hospitals deserve attention by someone who is alert and not suffering from fatigue. Our nurses in Alabama do a tremendous job, and we should not put an added burden upon them by forcing them to work when they are tired and not at their best," said Perdue.

The bill mirrors Perdue's sentiment, stating: "The Legislature finds that it is in the public interest that patients in health care facilities should be cared for by a nursing staff which is fresh and alert and not overly fatigued. The Legislature further finds that when such facilities reach a certain level of capacity, nurses are required to work long shifts and, in many cases, excessive overtime which impairs mental alertness and may result in danger to a patient."

The measure also notes that the legislation is "intended to promote und protect the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of this state."

The measure would apply to all health care facilities, as defined under Section 22-4-2, Code of Alabama 1975, which employ registered or licensed nurses.

The proposed legislation would prohibit a health care facility from taking any disciplinary action against a nurse or terminating his/her employment because the nurse refused to work more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period.

Included in the legislation is an emergency section which would temporarily suspend provisions of the law for "emergency or unanticipated situations, such as a natural disaster or terrorist strike, when such an emergency is declared by the administrator or board of directors of the facility."

"We feel this is a measure which is long overdue - for the sake of nurses and the patients," added Eddins.