2023 New York Laws › LAB - Labor › Article 5 - Hours of Labor › Title 1 - General › 167 - Restrictions on Consecutive Hours of Work for Nurses.

§  167.  Restrictions on consecutive hours of work for nurses. 1. When
  used in this section:
a. "Health care employer"  shall  mean  any  individual,  partnership,
  association,  corporation,  limited  liability  company or any person or
  group of persons acting directly or indirectly on behalf of  or  in  the
  interest  of  the employer, which provides health care services (i) in a
  facility licensed or operated pursuant to article  twenty-eight  of  the
  public  health  law,  including  any  facility  operated by the state, a
  political subdivision or a public  corporation  as  defined  by  section
  sixty-six  of  the  general  construction  law,  or  (ii)  in a facility
  operated by the state, a political subdivision or a  public  corporation
  as  defined  by  section  sixty-six  of  the  general  construction law,
  operated or licensed pursuant to the mental hygiene law,  the  education
  law,  the  correction law, or section five hundred four of the executive
  law.
b. "Nurse" shall mean a registered professional nurse  or  a  licensed
  practical  nurse  as  defined  by article one hundred thirty-nine of the
  education law who provides direct patient care.
c. "Regularly scheduled work hours", including  pre-scheduled  on-call
  time  and  the time spent for the purpose of communicating shift reports
  regarding patient status necessary to ensure patient safety, shall  mean
  those hours a nurse has agreed to work and is normally scheduled to work
  pursuant  to the budgeted hours allocated to the nurse's position by the
  health care employer; and if no  such  allocation  system  exists,  some
  other  measure  generally  used by the health care employer to determine
  when an employee is minimally supposed  to  work,  consistent  with  the
  collective  bargaining  agreement, if any. Nothing in this section shall
  be construed to permit an employer to use on-call time as  a  substitute
  for mandatory overtime.
2.  a.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law no health care
  employer shall require a nurse to work more than that nurse's  regularly
  scheduled  work  hours,  except  pursuant  to  subdivision three of this
  section.
b. Nothing in this section shall prohibit  a  nurse  from  voluntarily
  working overtime.
3. The limitations provided for in this section shall not apply in the
  case of:
a. a health care disaster, such as a natural or other type of disaster
  that   increases  the  need  for  health  care  personnel,  unexpectedly
  affecting the county in which the nurse is employed or in  a  contiguous
  county; or
b.  a  federal,  state or county declaration of emergency in effect in
  the county in which the nurse is employed or in a contiguous county; or
c. where a health care employer  determines  there  is  an  emergency,
  necessary  to  provide  safe  patient  care.  For  the  purposes of this
  paragraph, "emergency", including an unanticipated  staffing  emergency,
  is  defined  as  an unforeseen event that could not be prudently planned
  for by an employer and does not regularly occur; or
d. an ongoing medical or surgical procedure  in  which  the  nurse  is
  actively  engaged and whose continued presence through the completion of
  the procedure is needed to ensure the health and safety of the patient.
4. The provisions of this section are intended as a  remedial  measure
  to  protect the public health and the quality of patient care, and shall
  not be construed to diminish or waive any rights of any  nurse  pursuant
  to any other law, regulation, or collective bargaining agreement.
5.  Oversight of the use of mandatory overtime during an emergency. a.
  The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, shall

  have the authority to promulgate any regulations necessary to carry  out
  the provisions of this section.
b.  Any  health  care  employer  that  utilizes  an  exception  to the
  limitation  on  mandatory  overtime  provisions  as  provided   for   in
  subdivision  three of this section shall notify the department when such
  provisions are in use. If  a  health  care  employer  has  utilized  the
  mandatory  overtime  provisions  as  provided  for  in  this section for
  fifteen days or more in a given month, the employer shall report to  the
  department  and  the  department  of  health:  (i)  the  number  of days
  mandatory overtime was required; (ii) the number of employees that  were
  required  to  remain on duty in overtime status; and (iii) the dates and
  times mandatory overtime was required. If a  health  care  employer  has
  utilized mandatory overtime provisions under this section for forty-five
  days  or  more  in  any  consecutive  three month period the health care
  employer shall file with the department and the department of health  an
  explanation  for  why  mandatory  overtime  was  required and provide an
  estimate of when the employer intends to  cease  the  use  of  mandatory
  overtime.
c.  The  department  shall establish an enforcement officer to oversee
  investigations into any complaints of violations of this section.
d. The health care employer shall, before utilizing mandatory overtime
  provisions and requiring an on-duty employee  to  remain,  make  a  good
  faith  effort  to have overtime covered on a voluntary basis, including,
  but not limited to, calling per diems, agency nurses, assigning  floats,
  or  requesting an additional day of work from off-duty employees, to the
  extent such staffing options exist. Failure to engage in  a  good  faith
  effort  pursuant  to this section shall be a violation. Any employee who
  has been required to work in  violation  of  this  section  may  file  a
  complaint  with  the  enforcement  officer  alleging such violation. Any
  complaint made pursuant to this paragraph must be made in good faith.
6. Upon receipt of a complaint pursuant to subdivision  five  of  this
  section,  the  enforcement  officer  may  cause such investigation to be
  made, in consultation with the department of health and shall notify the
  employer. If, after investigation, the commissioner determines  that  an
  employer  has violated this section, the commissioner shall issue to the
  employer an order directing compliance therewith, which  shall  describe
  particularly  the  alleged  violation.  A  copy  of  such order shall be
  provided to any employee who has filed a complaint and  to  his  or  her
  authorized  representative.  The  commissioner may assess the employer a
  civil penalty in an amount not to exceed  one  thousand  dollars  for  a
  first  violation,  two thousand dollars for a second violation if within
  twelve months, or three thousand  dollars  for  a  third  or  subsequent
  violation  of  this  section if within twelve months; provided, however,
  that the department may assess an employer a civil penalty of  not  more
  than   five  hundred  dollars  for  any  violation  of  paragraph  b  of
  subdivision five of this section.
7. The department shall develop and make available on  its  website  a
  poster  containing  information  for  employees  on  filing  a complaint
  pursuant to this section. Every health care employer shall display  such
  poster  in  a  conspicuous  location  accessible  to  employees  in  the
  workplace.