Public Act 0349 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0201 Enrolled LRB094 06514 DRJ 36602 b

Public Act 094-0349

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Hospital Licensing Act is amended by adding Section 10.9 as follows:

(210 ILCS 85/10.9 new)

Sec. 10.9. Nurse mandated overtime prohibited.

(a) Definitions. As used in this Section:

"Mandated overtime" means work that is required by the hospital in excess of an agreed-to, predetermined work shift. Time spent by nurses required to be available as a condition of employment in specialized units, such as surgical nursing services, shall not be counted or considered in calculating the amount of time worked for the purpose of applying the prohibition against mandated overtime under subsection (b).

"Nurse" means any advanced practice nurse, registered professional nurse, or licensed practical nurse, as defined in the Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act, who receives an hourly wage and has direct responsibility to oversee or carry out nursing care. For the purposes of this Section, "advanced practice nurse" does not include a certified registered nurse anesthetist who is primarily engaged in performing the duties of a nurse anesthetist.

"Unforeseen emergent circumstance" means (i) any declared national, State, or municipal disaster or other catastrophic event, or any implementation of a hospital's disaster plan, that will substantially affect or increase the need for health care services or (ii) any circumstance in which patient care needs require specialized nursing skills through the completion of a procedure. An "unforeseen emergent circumstance" does not include situations in which the hospital fails to have enough nursing staff to meet the usual and reasonably predictable nursing needs of its patients.

(b) Mandated overtime prohibited. No nurse may be required to work mandated overtime except in the case of an unforeseen emergent circumstance when such overtime is required only as a last resort. Such mandated overtime shall not exceed 4 hours beyond an agreed-to, predetermined work shift.

(c) Off-duty period. When a nurse is mandated to work up to 12 consecutive hours, the nurse must be allowed at least 8 consecutive hours of off-duty time immediately following the completion of a shift.

(d) Retaliation prohibited. No hospital may discipline, discharge, or take any other adverse employment action against a nurse solely because the nurse refused to work mandated overtime as prohibited under subsection (b).

(e) Violations. Any employee of a hospital that is subject to this Act may file a complaint with the Department of Public Health regarding an alleged violation of this Section. The complaint must be filed within 45 days following the occurrence of the incident giving rise to the alleged violation. The Department must forward notification of the alleged violation to the hospital in question within 3 business days after the complaint is filed. Upon receiving a complaint of a violation of this Section, the Department may take any action authorized under Section 7 or 9 of this Act.

(f) Proof of violation. Any violation of this Section must be proved by clear and convincing evidence that a nurse was required to work overtime against his or her will. The hospital may defeat the claim of a violation by presenting clear and convincing evidence that an unforeseen emergent circumstance, which required overtime work, existed at the time the employee was required or compelled to work.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/28/2005