Governor Acts on Mandatory Nurse Overtime Bills
In the final days of the 2022 Legislative Session, the Legislature passed three bills that amended existing law limiting the use of mandatory nurse overtime. Two of the bills proposed imposing additional penalties on providers that mandate nurse overtime, and one of the bills expanded the scope of the mandatory overtime prohibition to include home care agencies.
Below is a description of all three bills as they were passed and delivered to the Governor:
- A.181-A/S.4885-A (Gunther/Savino) adds home care agencies and visits to the current law, thereby prohibiting home care agencies from requiring a registered professional nurse (RN) or a licensed practical nurse (LPN) to work more than that nurse’s regularly scheduled work hours and home care visits. Unlike the other bills, it does not specify enhanced penalties for home care agencies, require a 15 percent reward for overtime hours, or narrow existing exemptions from the prohibition on overtime.
- A.286-A/S.1997-A (Gunther/Jackson) specifies penalties for violations of Section 167 of the Labor Law, beginning at $1,000 and increasing to $3,000 for repeat violations. The bill also mandates, for each violation, an additional 15 percent of the overtime payment to nurses who work mandatory overtime. Unlike A.181-A/S.4885-A, it does not include home care nursing services.
- A.8874-B/S.8063-A (Joyner/Ramos) also specifies penalties for violations of Section 167 of the Labor Law, beginning at $1,000 and increasing to $5,000 for repeat violations occurring within three years, and for each violation mandates an additional 15 percent of the overtime payment to nurses who work mandatory overtime. Unlike the other two bills, it narrows the existing exceptions to the mandatory overtime ban by reinstating the ban within three days of a health care disaster and at the end of a declaration of emergency or within 30 days, whichever is shorter. Unlike A.181-A/S.4885-A, it does not include home care nursing services.
LeadingAge NY strongly opposed all three bills and weighed in with the Executive Chamber multiple times over the summer and fall in advance of the bills being delivered to the Governor for action. One letter the association sent to the Governor in October is available here. In addition to LeadingAge NY's advocacy, our members took matters into their own hands, writing over 200 emails to the Governor in opposition to the legislation.
Thanks to our joint advocacy, two of the three bills were ultimately vetoed by the Governor on Dec. 30th: A.181-A/S.4885-A, which added home care to the restrictions on nurse overtime, and A.8874-B/S.8063-A, which would have increased potential nursing home penalties to up to $5,000.
In the end, A.286-A/S.1997-A was signed by the Governor, but was approved with the caveat of chapter amendments agreed upon by the Executive and the Legislature. Early indications suggest that those chapter amendments will include key changes for which LeadingAge NY has advocated to mitigate negative impacts on our members and your ability to serve older adults in need of care. The Governor's approval memo for A.286-A/S.1997-A, which mentions nursing homes' challenges in finding adequate staff to keep beds open, is available here. The effective date for the chapter amendments is anticipated to be 180 days after the bill's signing.
LeadingAge NY will continue to keep members apprised of effective dates, chapter amendments, and new requirements borne out of this legislation and other laws that were recently signed by the Governor.
Contact: Sarah Daly, sdaly@leadingageny.org