Can an employer require a nurse to work longer than scheduled, or to work overtime? How many consecutive hours or shifts can a nurse work?
The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) does not have authority over work-place issues, such as schedules or number of hours worked, either consecutively, in a given time period or “on-call”. In 2009, during the 81st Legislative Session, SB 476 made changes to the Nursing Practice Act (NPA) and the Health & Safety Code. SB 476 applies to hospitals and nurses working in hospital settings only. The NPA changed with the addition of Section 301.356, Retaliation Prohibited. This new language states that “the refusal by a nurse to work mandatory overtime as authorized by Chapter 258, Health and Safety Code, does not constitute patient abandonment or neglect.” The NPA and Board Rules have always emphasized the nurse’s responsibility and duty to the patient is to provide safe and effective nursing care. While the BON has not defined the term abandonment, SB 476, permits nurses to refuse to work overtime. However, this does not diminish the duty of each individual nurse to always act in the best inter
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