Statement by Edward J. McElroy,
President of the American Federation of Teachers/AFT Healthcare
on Legislation to Ban Mandatory Overtime for Nurses

Bill to be Introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.,  
Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., and Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Ohio, on February 10

Washington, D.C. — “Forcing nurses to work overtime is as dangerous as the now illegal practice of requiring pilots and truckers to work beyond their regular shift.  When healthcare facilities rely on overworked, exhausted nurses, they are gambling that patients won’t die or otherwise be harmed by inadvertent mistakes.  Ending the unsafe practice of mandatory overtime is absolutely necessary so that nurses can provide the kind of care they are trained to give and that patients need.

“I want to commend Senator Kennedy and Congressmen Stark and LaTourette for introducing this very important piece of legislation.”

A study in the July/August 2004 Health Affairs Journal found that nurses who worked shifts of 12.5 hours or more were three times more likely to commit an error than nurses who worked a standard shift of 8.5 hours or less.  The study also found that working overtime increased the odds of making at least one error, regardless of how long the original shift.

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