The OT threat to our health
Philadelphia Daily Times
By Ben Waxman
THOUSANDS of nurses and other health-care workers across Pennsylvania are being overworked by a practice called mandatory overtime.
This policy is bad for the employees, their families and the public. The
state House has passed a bill banning it - and the Senate should do the
same.
Anyone who has watched "ER" or even "Scrubs" knows that health-care
workers have exhausting schedules. That's the nature of a 24-hour
industry.
But many people may not know that some workers are forced by supervisors
to work past their regular shifts. Nurses and other caregivers are sometimes
required to keep working for several more hours - sometimes even an entire
shift. If nurses refuse to stay, they can be disciplined, fired, even lose their
licenses.
A poll conducted by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in 2005 found
that 13.6 percent of nurses in the state were subjected to mandatory overtime in
the two-week period studied. The study surveyed 82 percent of the nurses in the
state, so it's an accurate reflection of the conditions that these workers
face.
One of the most troubling things about mandatory overtime is how
arbitrary it is. A worker may have little or no warning that she'll be required
to work later than expected. This is particularly burdensome on those with
children, including single parents. Workers should be able to have some control
over their schedules.
Mandatory overtime is also a health and safety issue.
According to a report from SEIU Healthcare PA, the union that represents
nurses and other health workers, 51 percent of all mandatory overtime occurs in
state-run hospitals, including prisons and mental-health facilities. Mandatory
overtime causes exhaustion and increases the risk for workers in these
potentially dangerous workplaces.
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