LANSING, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Michigan Senate has passed a bipartisan bill package prohibiting excessive use of mandatory overtime for nurses. Now, Michigan nurses are celebrating that achievement.
The passage came after a Week of Action by the Michigan Nurses Association (MNA), which involved demonstrations and practice protests from the Keweenaw Peninsula to the State Capitol. Participants in Lansing watched as the Senate passed Senate Bills 296 and 297, sponsored by Senators Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Township).
According to an MNA press release, there is no law limiting the number of consecutive hours a nurse can be forced to work. Since hospital nurses typically work 12-hour shifts, being mandated to stay over can mean shifts of 16, 18, or more hours. Nurses currently do not have the right to say no, which spokespeople say leads to nurses being forced to provide care while exhausted, putting patients at risk and leading nurses to quit hospital work.
“Mandatory overtime should only be used in rare circumstances, not every day as a staffing strategy like it is right now in hospitals across the state,” said Aaron McCormick, RN, President of the Michigan Nurses Association. “Banning the abuse of mandatory overtime will help every hospital nurse in Michigan, making the workplace more sustainable for us and safer for the patients we take care of. Senators Chang and McBroom were relentless in bringing these reforms home because they truly listened to nurses and respected what we need.”
McCormick said MNA members are grateful for the broad support from so many legislators over the years, and the MNA is looking forward to building on this momentum to advance the bills in the House. He noted that there is no shortage of available nurses in Michigan; rather, there is a shortage of nurses willing to work under workplace conditions like excessive mandatory overtime.
“Forcing nurses to continue providing critical care for hours on end—while exhausted and sleep deprived—is unsafe for patients and worsens our nursing crisis,” Senator Chang said. “Our hardworking nurses are crucial to getting Michiganders well, and guardrails to protect them from grueling required overtime are long overdue. I am excited that the Senate took bipartisan action to advance real solutions for the safety of nurses and patients.”
“I’m honored to have worked with nurses from my district and across Michigan on this commonsense plan to improve nurses’ work conditions as well as patient outcomes,” Senator McBroom said. “We have safe limits on working hours for other workers like truck drivers, airline pilots, and locomotive drivers; nurses have people’s lives in their hands and need these protections, too.”
The MNA says this legislation allows nurses to volunteer for overtime as long as they feel able to provide safe care. It also provides for exceptions in circumstances such as natural disasters, mass casualty events, or an ongoing patient care procedure.
The bills were sent to the Government Operations Committee in the House, where they now await a hearing. If they are enacted into law, Michigan will become the 19th state with restrictions on mandatory nurse overtime in hospitals.
