NEW LABOR RULES The California Nurses
Association is concerned with some provisions in new regulation
approved by the Industrial Welfare Commission.
- Non-union, private health care workers may be required to work
13-hour shifts in certain circumstances. - Health care employers may declare a emergency requiring workers
to work an additional four hours for a 16-hour workday. - IWC regulations offer no provision for enforcement of
violations.
SOURCE: California Nurses Association
By Mason Stockstill
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
New statewide labor regulations for registered nurses went into
effect Sunday, though it is unclear how they will impact nurses at
UCLA and other UC hospitals.
The regulations penalize employers who deprive workers of their
state-mandated rest break or meal period by requiring them to pay a
penalty equal to one hour’s pay to each affected
employee.
“Chronic hospital understaffing means that registered
nurses regularly are unable to take their rest breaks and meal
periods,” said Kay McVay, president of the California Nurses
Association union, in a statement.
“The result is more fatigued nurses which, especially when
combined with the dangerous practice of mandatory overtime, can
lead to increased medical errors and accidents and injuries to
nurses,” she continued.
The new regulations were instituted by the Industrial Welfare
Commission, a statewide regulatory agency that sets standards for
employees throughout California.
The commission also instituted new regulations regarding
mandatory overtime for employees who work 12-hour shifts, though
the CNA objected to certain provisions of these regulations.
Nurses working 12-hour shifts may be required to work an
additional hour of overtime if their replacement is late showing up
or does not report for duty, under the new guidelines.
Also, in emergency situations, employers can require health care
workers to work an additional four hours, bringing their total to
16 hours straight.
CNA official Richard Holober said the overtime regulations give
employers too much discretion in defining an emergency, which could
lead to nurses being forced to work overtime too often.
David Johnson, who handles UC issues for the CNA, said excessive
overtime has been a problem at UC hospitals.
“All mandatory overtime is bad, particularly where
mandatory overtime erodes the competence of patient care
providers,” he said. “Our position is that mandatory
overtime should not be used as a method for staffing hospitals,
including UC hospitals. We believe it’s unsafe.”
University officials did not immediately know whether the
guidelines, which had only recently taken effect, would govern
nurses at UC hospitals.
UC spokesman Dan Kier said it was too soon to be able to tell
how the new guidelines ““ which only specifically mention
privately employed nurses ““ would affect the university.
The changes to the guidelines were the result of legislation
Gov. Gray Davis signed in July 1999 asking the commission to
reconsider the laws regarding the 12-hour workday.
The commission began its research in January, holding several
public hearings to gauge opinions on the issue.
“There was overwhelming support for the 12-hour workday,
from both employers and employees,” said Michael Moreno, an
analyst with the commission.
But the CNA is pushing for legislation to tighten up the current
overtime regulations. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., introduced a bill
that would ban mandatory overtime beyond 8 hours a day or 80 hours
in any 14-day work period, except in the case of a natural disaster
or an emergency declared by government officials.