Massachusetts 2023-2024 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H1838 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	1 of 2
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3477 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1838
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Daniel Cahill
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act to prohibit mandatory overtime.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel Cahill10th Essex1/20/2023Rodney M. Elliott16th Middlesex1/26/2023Steven Ultrino33rd Middlesex1/26/2023David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf17th Worcester1/30/2023Christopher J. Worrell5th Suffolk1/30/2023Brian W. Murray10th Worcester1/30/2023Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/30/2023James C. Arena-DeRosa8th Middlesex1/30/2023Gerard J. Cassidy9th Plymouth1/31/2023Alan Silvia7th Bristol1/31/2023Michael P. Kushmerek3rd Worcester2/1/2023Patricia A. Duffy5th Hampden2/3/2023James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/13/2023Frank A. Moran17th Essex2/13/2023Vanna Howard17th Middlesex2/13/2023Paul McMurtry11th Norfolk2/13/2023Peter Capano11th Essex2/18/2023James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/20/2023 2 of 2
16	16	Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire3/4/2023Jennifer Balinsky Armini8th Essex3/6/2023Dylan A. FernandesBarnstable, Dukes and Nantucket3/8/2023Antonio F. D. Cabral13th Bristol3/10/2023 1 of 3
17	17	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3477 FILED ON: 1/20/2023
18	18	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 1838
19	19	By Representative Cahill of Lynn, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1838) of Daniel
20	20	Cahill and others for legislation to prohibit health care worker mandatory overtime. Labor and
21	21	Workforce Development.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court
25	25	(2023-2024)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to prohibit mandatory overtime.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the Massachusetts General Laws, as appearing in the 2018
31	31	2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out section 226, and inserting in place thereof the
32	32	3following section:-
33	33	4 Section 226. (a) For the purposes of this section the following words shall, unless the
34	34	5context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
35	35	6 "Facility" shall mean a hospital licensed under section 51 of this chapter, the teaching
36	36	7hospital of the University of Massachusetts medical school, any licensed private or state-owned
37	37	8and state-operated general acute care hospital, an acute psychiatric hospital, an acute care
38	38	9specialty hospital, any acute care unit within a state operated healthcare facility, or a medium-
39	39	10security state correctional facility for male inmates located in Plymouth County that is operated
40	40	11and maintained by a private company under contract with the Department of Corrections. For 2 of 3
41	41	12purposes of this section, facility shall not include rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing
42	42	13facilities, other long-term care facilities, or any other Massachusetts correctional facilities.
43	43	14 "Health Care Workforce" shall mean personnel employed by or contracted to work at a
44	44	15facility who have an effect upon the delivery of quality care to patients, including but not limited
45	45	16to registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, unlicensed assistive personnel, service,
46	46	17maintenance, clerical, professional and technical workers, and all other health care workers. For
47	47	18purposes of this section, doctors, interns, residents and facility management personnel, as well as
48	48	19any correctional facility security personnel not providing health care services, shall not be
49	49	20considered the health care workforce.
50	50	21 “Mandatory Overtime'' shall mean any hours worked by a member of the health care
51	51	22workforce in a facility to deliver patient care, beyond the predetermined and regularly scheduled
52	52	23number of hours that the hospital and a member of the health care workforce have agreed that the
53	53	24employee shall work, provided that in no case shall such predetermined and regularly scheduled
54	54	25number of hours exceed 12 hours in any 24-hour period.
55	55	26 (b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, a facility shall not require
56	56	27a member of the health care workforce to work mandatory overtime except in the case of an
57	57	28emergency situation where the safety of the patient requires its use and when there is no
58	58	29reasonable alternative.
59	59	30 (c) Under subsection (b), whenever there is an emergency situation where the safety of a
60	60	31patient requires its use and when there is no reasonable alternative, the facility shall, before
61	61	32requiring overtime, make a good faith effort to have such hours covered on a voluntary basis. 3 of 3
62	62	33Mandatory overtime shall not be used as a regular practice for providing appropriate staffing for
63	63	34the level of patient care required.
64	64	35 (d) Under subsection (c), the health policy commission established under section 2 of
65	65	36chapter 6D, shall further develop guidelines and procedures to determine what constitutes an
66	66	37emergency situation for the purposes of allowing mandatory overtime. In developing those
67	67	38guidelines, the commission shall consult with those employees and employers who would be
68	68	39affected by such a policy. The commission shall solicit comment from those same parties
69	69	40through a public hearing.
70	70	41 (e) Facilities shall report all instances of mandatory overtime and the circumstances
71	71	42requiring its use to the department of public health or, in the case of the aforementioned medium-
72	72	43security state correctional institution, by the contracting management company and to the
73	73	44department of corrections. Such reports shall be public documents.
74	74	45 (f) A member of the health care workforce shall not be allowed to exceed 16 consecutive
75	75	46hours worked in a 24-hour period. In the event a member of the health care workforce works 16
76	76	47consecutive hours, that member of the health care workforce must be given at least 8 consecutive
77	77	48hours of off-duty time immediately-after the worked overtime.
78	78	49 (g) This section is intended as a remedial measure to protect the public health and the
79	79	50quality and safety of patient care and shall not be construed to diminish or waive any rights of
80	80	51the member of the healthcare workforce under other laws, regulations or collective bargaining
81	81	52agreements. The refusal of a member of the healthcare workforce to accept work in excess of the
82	82	53limitations set forth in this section shall not be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge
83	83	54or any other employment decision.