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A New Ohio Bill Aims to End Forced Overtime for Nurses

photo of nurses rally
JO INGLES
/
STATEHOUSE NEWS BUREAU

Often times, when nurses are at the end of their shifts, they will be asked if they can stay late. Sometimes it’s not a request but an implied order. But that practice has been questioned and now there’s a bill to change it.

Republican Rep. Robert Sprague says “forced overtime” is common for nurses.

“If they refuse to stay for another shift or half of another shift, to cover for someone else, or just because the staffing is insufficient, in some cases they are being threatened with termination of their employment or having their license revoked. And it’s a problem we’ve heard from nurses across the state,” he said.

Sprague’s bill would prevent hospitals from requiring nurses to work overtime to keep their jobs. He says he’s working with hospitals to make sure the bill strikes a balance between helping overworked nurses while not compromising patient safety.

Jo Ingles is a professional journalist who covers politics and Ohio government for the Ohio Public Radio and Television for the Ohio Public Radio and Television Statehouse News Bureau. She reports on issues of importance to Ohioans including education, legislation, politics, and life and death issues such as capital punishment. Jo started her career in Louisville, Kentucky in the mid 80’s when she helped produce a televised presidential debate for ABC News, worked for a creative services company and served as a general assignment report for a commercial radio station. In 1989, she returned back to her native Ohio to work at the WOSU Stations in Columbus where she began a long resume in public radio.