Merkley, Matsui, Kiggans Champion Bipartisan Legislation to Keep America’s Nurses and Patients Safe

Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, along with U.S. Representatives Doris Matsui (D-CA-07) and Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), announced the reintroduction of their Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act.

To tackle staffing-related challenges, nurses are often forced to work mandatory overtime beyond their scheduled shift, which can endanger the safety of both patients and nurses. To address these challenges, the bicameral, bipartisan Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act would provide nurses with stronger federal workplace safeguards.

"We know that when truck drivers or pilots are pushed past the point of exhaustion, lives are put at risk. The same is true for nurses, and they should not be forced to work to the point that patient safety is jeopardized," said Merkley. "As the husband of a nurse, I know these heroes take care of us when we are in need, and we need to take care of them. Our bipartisan Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act would protect lives by limiting mandatory overtime and ensuring nurses have the support, respect, and working conditions they need and deserve."

"Nurses perform lifesaving work every day, providing patients with the care, comfort and support they need during their most vulnerable moments," said Matsui. "But persistent staffing shortages have forced too many nurses to work excessive hours, contributing to exhaustion and burnout while putting patient safety at risk. California and 17 other states have already acted to limit mandatory overtime. The Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act would establish commonsense protections nationwide so nurses can provide the highest quality care without being pushed beyond safe limits."

"We can't solve America's nursing shortage until we address the workplace challenges driving talented nurses away from this important field. These workforce shortages have left many nurses working excessive overtime, leading to fatigue and less time with their families. As a nurse practitioner, I recognize the importance of fostering a work environment that is beneficial for both our caregivers and their patients. I'm proud to join Senator Merkley and Congresswoman Matsui to introduce the Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act to establish much-needed overtime regulations in place to limit burnout and improve access to quality healthcare," said Kiggans.

To date, 18 states have passed legislation or issued regulations restricting mandatory overtime for nurses. The Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act would provide strong protections at the federal level for the 5.2 million registered nurses in the United States-the single largest group of health care professionals in the nation, as well as nearly 1 million licensed practical nurses and licensed vocational nurses.

The bicameral, bipartisan Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act would:

• Limit mandatory overtime for nurses by prohibiting health care facilities from requiring nurses to work with certain exceptions;
• Adopt whistleblower and nondiscrimination protections to protect nurses against retaliation; and
• Impose civil penalties for each known violation.

The bill is endorsed by over 50 organizations, including the American Nurses Association (ANA), AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services, National Nurses United, SEIU, and Oregon Nurses Association. A full list of supporting organizations can be found here.

"Senator Merkley and Representatives Matsui and Kiggans understand what's at stake: patient safety starts with nurse safety," said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Association. "Mandatory overtime is not a staffing strategy. It is a symptom of systemic workforce challenges that put nurses in impossible positions and increase risk at the bedside through physical fatigue and burnout. ANA supports federal action that sets clear limits, strengthens protections for nurses who speak up, and helps create the safe work environments nurses and patients deserve."

"We see our hospital employers abuse mandated overtime all the time to exploit nurses who already work long and often grueling shifts to care for their patients," said Jamie Brown, RN, National Nurses United President. "This is dangerous for patient safety and exacerbates the staffing crisis that is causing nurses to leave the bedside at astonishingly high rates due to poor working conditions. We applaud Senator Merkley for introducing this bill to protect nurses from mandatory overtime and hold big hospital corporations accountable. National Nurses United strongly urges every U.S. Senator to stand alongside our registered nurses by cosponsoring this legislation and passing it expeditiously."

"Too many hospitals have high patient loads and persistent understaffing; but instead of hiring more nurses, management is forcing mandatory overtime on current staff. The longer days lead to burnout and nurses leaving the bedside for other jobs. The Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act will protect nurses who can't take on the mandatory overtime while safely allocating more hours for nurses who want them. This legislation is crucial to maintaining working conditions for AFT nurses and improving patient care. I thank Sen. Merkley for his leadership," said Randi Weingarten, President, AFT: Education, Healthcare, Public Services.

"Nurses are constantly forced to make impossible, gut-wrenching decisions," said Jody Demineck, RN, Secretary-Treasurer of SEIU 1107, the largest healthcare and public sector union in Nevada, and a pediatric nurse at HCA Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Las Vegas. "It feels like playing a frantic game of medical whack-a-mole, running from the most threatening crisis to the next. When you repeatedly see patient suffering that could be avoided, that absolutely breaks you. This legislation is needed to address the crisis and retain workers so we can protect our vulnerable patients."

In the Senate, the Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Adam Schiff (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.

A summary of the bill can be found by clicking here.

A section-by-section outline of the bill can be found by clicking here.

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