AB 840: Nurses and certified nursing assistants: overtime.

The State Civil Service Act generally requires the workweek of state employees to be 40 hours, and the workday of state employees to be 8 hours. Under the act, it is the policy of the state to avoid the necessity for overtime work whenever possible.

This bill, commencing January 1, 2019, would prohibit a nurse or Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), as defined, employed by the State of California in a specified type of facility from being compelled to work in excess of the regularly scheduled workweek or work shift, except under certain circumstances. The bill would authorize a nurse or CNA to volunteer or agree to work hours in addition to his or her regularly scheduled workweek or work shift, but the refusal to accept those additional hours would not constitute patient abandonment or neglect or be grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, or any other penalty or employment decision adverse to the nurse or CNA.

This bill would require such a facility to establish a 8-member joint labor management task force, with membership as prescribed, to meet quarterly to develop specific recommendations and a plan to reduce or eliminate mandatory overtime. The bill would require a task force, on or before November 1, 2018, to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on its recommendations. Those task force and report provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2019.

The bill would make a related statement of legislative intent.