Dangerous Staffing Practice

Dramatic increase in the use of mandatory overtime as a staffing tool, is a dangerous staffing practice. This dangerous staffing practice, in part due to a nursing shortages is having a negative impact on patient care, fostering medical errors, and driving nurses away from the bedside. The main law dealing with wage and hour limits is the federal Fair Labor Standards Act or FSLA, passed in 1938. Although the FSLA establishes the 40-hour work per week, it does not put an upper limit on the number of hours my boss can ask me to work. However, it does require that any worker covered by the statute who works more than 40 hours per week must get paid time-and-a-half for any hours worked above that number. Federal law does not limit the amount
Labor laws such as the FLSA need to be amended to protect workers against excessive work hours and mandatory overtime and to protect the public from the dangers of an overburdened, stressed workforce. Employees should have the legal right to refuse overtime after having worked a certain number of hours – without fear of job loss or other sanctions. Furthermore, an employee should be asked to work beyond some legislated upper limit only during exceptional circumstances such as a temporary health or public safety emergency. Amendment of the FLSA can preserve the right of workers to work long hours if they choose to do so, but ensure workers the right to refuse mandatory
Refusal by any employee to accept such overtimes work should not be a grounds for employment discrimination, dismissal, or discharge or any other penalty. This proposal attempts to strike a balance between the needs of both employers and employees. It recognizes that employers’ demand for labor may fluctuate from day to day and week to week. Unexpected labor shortages may arise due to an increase in business activity, sick leave, or other unexpected circumstances, and employers surely need to have some discretion to vary employees’