News about current legislation affecting workplace rights before the U.S. Congress and the legislatures of all 50 states.
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West Virginia Governor Signs Law to Bar Private Hospitals from Forcing Nurses to Work Overtime
Source: Gavin McCormick (AP), San Francisco Chronicle
Date: February 25, 2004
Gov. Bob Wise signed into law Wednesday a bill barring private
hospitals from forcing nurses to work overtime except in emergencies or to complete a patient procedure.
Surrounded by dozens of white-uniformed nurses, Wise echoed health care and union officials by saying the law
would improve patient safety and prevent medical mistakes by nurses exhausted by long hours. Beginning May 17,
nurses who work more than 12 hours must be allowed at least eight hours off. "We cannot ask nurses to work
hours on end, jeopardizing patient and employee lives," Wise said. The law will cover an estimated 10,100
nurses at West Virginia's 60 private hospitals. Four state-run hospitals and four veterans' hospitals run by
the federal government are unaffected.
