Bipartisan plan aims to end abuse of mandatory nurse overtime

 

Michigan Nurses Association | May 2025

 

During Nurses Week, legislators take action to put reasonable limits on work hours

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LANSING – Addressing a practice known to drive nurses away from hospital work, a bipartisan plan introduced today aims to end the rampant abuse of mandatory nurse overtime.

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There is no law limiting the number of consecutive hours a nurse can work. Since hospital nurses typically work 12-hour shifts, being forced to stay over can mean shifts of 16, 18 or even more hours. Nurses do not have the right to say no. This leads to nurses being forced to provide care while exhausted, putting patients at potential risk and leading nurses to quit hospital work.

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State Senators Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and Ed McBroom (R-Waucedah Township) today (Thursday) introduced a package (Senate Bills 296 and 297, respectively) that prohibits forced overtime for hospital RNs in most circumstances. It also requires a hospital to give nurses 8 hours off after a 12-hour shift so they can rest before coming back to work.

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“Forced overtime for nurses should be the exception, not standard practice like it is in too many hospitals all across the state,” said Jamie Brown, RN, president of the Michigan Nurses Association. “There is no shortage of available nurses; there is a shortage of nurses willing to work under workplace conditions like excessive mandatory overtime. The revolving door of nurses at hospitals will continue until the law forces hospitals to change.”

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If this legislation passes, Michigan would join 18 other states that prohibit or limit forced nurse overtime.

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“Nurses provide such important care for patients in their most vulnerable moments, and they should have reasonable legal limits on their work hours just like truck drivers, air traffic controllers, airline pilots, and train engineers,” Chang said. “Forcing nurses to provide complex care while exhausted or sleep-deprived is dangerous. This Nurses Week, let’s recognize just how important nurses are and make sure they have these reasonable, commonsense protections.”

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The legislation allows nurses to volunteer for overtime as long as they feel able to provide safe care. It also provides for exceptions in circumstances such as natural disasters, mass casualty events, or an ongoing patient care procedure.

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“This plan provides plenty of flexibility for hospitals while improving conditions and outcomes for patients,” McBroom said. “It’s no wonder nurses are leaving the bedside when they don’t even know how long their shifts will be or whether they’ll be too exhausted to provide proper care. Ending the abuse of mandatory overtime just makes sense, for nurses, patients and hospitals.”

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Data show that the practice of mandatory overtime is a factor in the continuing nurse staffing crisis:

• Forty-two percent of Michigan licensed nurses surveyed would be more likely to work in direct care if mandatory overtime were eliminated, according to independent research conducted in 2023.*1​

• Mandatory overtime was associated with a higher likelihood of departure from nursing in the past two years, according to a 2022 University of Michigan survey of more than 10,000 Michigan licensed nurses.*2

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The Michigan Nurses Association (MNA) is the largest union and professional association for registered nurses and healthcare professionals in the state. MNA is an affiliate of National Nurses United and AFL-CIO.

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*1 Emma White Research: Survey of Registered Nurses Living or Working in Michigan. Commissioned by the Michigan Nurses Association. January 23, 2023

*2 Barbara Medvec, et al: “Patterns and Correlates of Nurse Departures From the Health Care Workforce: Results From a Statewide Study.” Medical Care. May 2023