Mandatory Overtime Ban Signed Into Law
It's been seven years in the making, but this week, Pennsylvania
state legislation against mandatory overtime for nurses and healthcare
workers passed its last hurdle on its way to the Governor's desk. The
Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a concurrence vote on
House Bill 834, accepting amendments made in the Senate. Governor Rendell
signed the bill into law yesterday, October 9th.
This is an incredible victory for Pennsylvania caregivers and their
patients. When the law takes effect on July 1st, no nurse providing
direct patient care will be forced to work overtime except in the case
of a true emergency or unforeseen event. Nurses and other caregivers
will no longer have to worry about making mistakes or falling asleep
while driving home because we had to work over our regularly scheduled
shift.
What an amazing moment for Pennsylvania and the future of health care.
Update On Gustav Relief Efforts
RNs with the Nurse Alliance of SEIU Healthcare are on their way to lend a hand in Baton Rouge, where nurses at a regional special needs shelter are “getting overwhelmed” and expect the situation to become even more challenging in the coming days.
Read the press release
Volunteer with us
Government Health and Safety Information for Relief Workers
'Nurse Keith' Wins Blogger Scholarship Congratulations to
Nurse Keith and his RN blog
"Digital Doorway" for winning our first-ever national 2008 RN blogger scholarship. Beginning this past July, Keith will be authoring blog posts on a number of critical nursing issues—from short-staffing and mandatory overtime, to the debate over healthcare reform this Presidential campaign season. We're excited to feature Keith's blog on our site, and will keep you posted on his work this fall.
Check out Nurse Keith's blog