Objective

To determine the extent of implementation of the five recommendations included in our initial audit report Restrictions on Consecutive Hours of Work for Nurses (Report 2017-S-14).

About the Program

The Department of Labor (Department) is responsible for enforcing the requirements of Section 167 of the New York State Labor Law – referred to as the Restrictions on Consecutive Hours of Work for Nurses Law (Law).  Effective July 2009, the Law limits the consecutive hours of work by Registered Nurses (RNs) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) in non-emergency situations.  The Law applies to RNs and LPNs who provide direct patient care in hospitals, nursing homes, treatment centers, and other facilities licensed under Article 28 of the Public Health Law; as well as facilities operated by the State pursuant to the Mental Hygiene Law, Education Law, and the Correction Law. The Law, and applicable Department regulations, prevent facilities from requiring nurses to work beyond their regularly scheduled and agreed-upon hours. Employers are required to develop Nurse Coverage Plans to address typical patterns of absenteeism and identify alternate staffing methods to ensure adequate staffing through means other than mandatory overtime. If nurses feel their employers violated the Law, they may file complaints with the Department’s Division of Labor Standards (Division), which, in turn, will conduct investigations to determine compliance. The Law does not preclude nurses from volunteering to work additional hours and does not apply in situations such as health care disasters or a federal, State, or local declaration of an emergency.

Our initial report, issued on April 23, 2018, found the Division lacked policies and procedures to guide its complaint investigations, resulting in missing documentation, inconsistent application of the Law, delayed investigations of State-operated facilities, and poor communication with complainants. Additionally, the Division’s Worker Protection Monetary System lacked the functionality to provide useful information to Division management to effectively oversee complaint investigations.  The Division was also unaware of all employers that fall under the Law.

Key Finding

We found the Division has made some progress in addressing the problems we identified in the initial audit report. Of the five prior audit recommendations, one was implemented and four were partially implemented.

Key Recommendation

Officials are given 30 days after the issuance of the follow-up report to provide information on any actions that are planned to address the unresolved issues discussed in this report.