Often, when nurses are at the end of their shifts, they will be asked if they can stay late. Sometimes it’s not a request but an implied order. Now, a proposed Ohio law would ban hospitals from forcing nurses to work overtime.
State Rep. Robert Sprague, a Republican from Findlay, introduced the overtime bill last month. Sprague says "forced overtime" for nurses can lead to medical errors.
“If they refuse to stay for another shift or half of another shift, to cover for someone else, or just because the staffing is insufficient, in some cases they are being threatened by the termination of their employment or having their license revoked," Sprague says. "And it’s a problem we’ve heard from nurses across the state.”
The Ohio Nurses Association has supported steps to limit overtime since 2015. Nurses Association CEO Lori Chovanak told the Associated Press that nurses can't provide safe care to patients if they're fatigued.
The Ohio Hospital Association says medical facilities need flexibility to adequately treat all of their patients and that the proposed law overlooks the varied skill sets within hospital staffs. Sprague says he's working with hospitals to make sure the bill strikes a balance between helping overworked nurses while not compromising patient safety.
There are more than 200,000 registered nurses in Ohio.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
