Illinois Administrative Code › Title 77 - PUBLIC HEALTH › Part 250 - HOSPITAL LICENSING REQUIREMENTS › Subpart I - NURSING SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION › Section 250.1110 - Mandatory Overtime Prohibition

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
a) As used in this Section, the following
				definitions apply:
"Agreed-to, predetermined shift" - nursing hours of work,
				  provided in advance to staff, in a prospective nurse staffing schedule for each
				  patient care unit. Any work hours in addition to the predetermined shifts or
				  prospective work schedule must be agreed to between the nurse employee and the
				  employer. The agreed-to, predetermined shift may include "on call" but does not
				  include other overtime staffing mechanisms in which a nurse employee's work, or
				  availability to work additional hours, is at the sole discretion of the
				  employer.
"Mandated overtime" - work that is required by the
				  hospital in excess of an agreed-to, predetermined work shift. Time spent by
				  nurses required to be available as a condition of employment in specialized
				  units, such as surgical nursing services, shall not be counted or considered in
				  calculating the amount of time worked for the purpose of applying the
				  prohibition against mandated overtime
. (Section 10.9(a) of the
				  Act)
"Nurse" - any advanced practice registered nurse,
				  registered professional nurse, or licensed practical nurse, as defined in the
				  Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act, who receives an hourly wage and has
				  direct responsibility to oversee or carry out nursing care. For the purposes of
				  this Section, "advanced practice registered nurse" does not include a certified
				  registered nurse anesthetist who is primarily engaged in performing the duties
				  of a nurse anesthetist
. (Section 10.9(a) of the Act)
"On-call/available" - the voluntary agreement by any nurse to
				  be assigned specific agreed-to, predetermined hours of availability for work as
				  a condition of employment. Additional hours of on-call in excess of the nurse's
				  predetermined hours of work shall be strictly voluntary.
"Overtime" - the hours of work in excess of an agreed-to
				  predetermined regularly scheduled shift, not to exceed 40 hours of work in a
				  seven-day workweek.
"Retaliation" - disciplining, discharging, suspending,
				  demoting, harassing, denying employment or promotion, laying off, or taking any
				  adverse action against a nurse.
"Specialized unit" - a unit, such as surgical nursing
				  services.
"Substantially affect" - affecting a situation, except for
				  deviations that result in unimportant changes, given the particular situation
				  involved.
"Unforeseen emergent circumstances" -
Any declared national, State or municipal disaster or
				  other catastrophic event, or implementation of a hospital's disaster plan, that
				  will substantially affect or increase the need for health care services;
				  or
Any circumstances in which patient care needs require
				  specialized nursing skills through the completion of a
				  procedure.
An "unforeseen emergent circumstance" does not
				  include situations in which the hospital fails to have enough nursing staff to
				  meet the usual and reasonably predictable nursing needs of its
				  patient
. (Section 10.9(a) of the Act)
b)
Mandated overtime
is
prohibited. No nurse
shall
be required to work
				mandated overtime except in the case of an unforeseen emergent circumstance
				when such overtime is required only as a last resort.
1)
Such mandated overtime shall not
				exceed 4 hours beyond an agreed-to, predetermined work shift.
(Section
				10.9(b) of the Act)
2)
Time
				spent by nurses required to be available as a condition of employment in
				specialized units, such as surgical nursing services, shall not be counted or
				considered in calculating the amount of time worked for the purpose of applying
				the prohibition against mandating overtime.
(Section 10.9(a) of the
				Act)
3) For any nurse who does not
				agree to employment requiring on-call hours, the refusal of a nurse employee to
				agree to such on-call availability shall not constitute grounds for
				retaliation, discrimination, dismissal, discharge, or any other penalty, threat
				of reports for discipline, or employment decisions adverse to the nurse
				employee.
4) The hospital's written
				staffing plan shall include an on-call policy for those units where on-call is
				required as a condition of employment.
5) On-call is not to be used to fill
				vacancies resulting from chronic or foreseeable staff shortages.