A Valley lawmaker says he’ll be pushing for a law that prohibits mandatory overtime work for nurses as a condition of employment.

State Representative Al Cutrona has announced he will introduce the bill passed in the previous General Assembly by a vote of 80-13 and was led by the former 59th Ohio House District State Representative Don Manning, who passed away last year.

The Ohio Nurses Association applauded the bill when it was first introduced in 2019.

Cutrona cited various studies found through the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health that he says found excess work and overtime can result in negative outcomes for patients and nurses. In addition, non-overtime nurse staffing has shown to result in improved patient health outcomes.

 Under terms of the legislation, nurses could still voluntarily work overtime, and hospitals can still offer overtime.

The bill prohibits a hospital from requiring a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse to work in excess of agreed upon, predetermined, scheduled full-time or part-time workweek as a condition of continued employment.

In addition, hospitals could not terminate employment, propose termination, take disciplinary or retaliatory action, or propose disciplinary or retaliatory action if a nurse decides not to work overtime.

“We’ve seen reports that employers have threatened disciplinary action if nurses do not work unscheduled overtime,” said Cutrona. This bill codifies that nurses cannot be forced into overtime. Being overworked and fatigued within the medical field can lead to unintended consequences for both nurses and patients alike. We need to make sure that both our nurses and patients are taken care of in this respect.”

Cutrona  is currently seeking cosponsors of the bill and awaits introduction.