BILL REQ. #:  H-0226.3 

Read first time 01/29/09.   Referred to Committee on Commerce & Labor.

     AN ACT Relating to limiting mandatory overtime for corrections officers and sergeants employed by a city or county jail; and amending RCW 49.28.130 and 49.28.140.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 49.28.130 and 2002 c 112 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this section and RCW 49.28.140 and 49.28.150 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Employee" means:
     (a) A licensed practical nurse or a registered nurse licensed under chapter 18.79 RCW employed by a health care facility who is involved in direct patient care activities or clinical services and receives an hourly wage; or
     (b) A corrections officer or sergeant employed by a city or county jail located in a county with a population of more than one million five hundred thousand.
     (2) "Employer" means:
     (a) An individual, partnership, association, corporation, state institution, political subdivision of the state, or person or group of persons, acting directly or indirectly in the interest of a health care facility; or
     (b) A city or county that is primarily responsible for the operation of a jail.
     (3) "Health care facility" means the following facilities, or any part of the facility, that operates on a twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week basis: Hospices licensed under chapter 70.127 RCW, hospitals licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, rural health care facilities as defined in RCW 70.175.020, and psychiatric hospitals licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW, and includes such facilities if owned and operated by a political subdivision or instrumentality of the state. If a nursing home regulated under chapter 18.51 RCW or a home health agency regulated under chapter 70.127 RCW is operating under the license of a health care facility, the nursing home or home health agency is considered part of the health care facility for the purposes of this subsection.
     (4) "Overtime" means the hours worked in excess of an agreed upon, predetermined, regularly scheduled shift within a twenty-four hour period:
     (a) Not to exceed twelve hours in a twenty-four hour period or eighty hours in a consecutive fourteen-day period for employees defined in subsection (1)(a) of this section; or
     (b) Not to exceed eight and seventeen one-hundredths hours in a twenty-four hour period or forty and eighty-five one-hundredths hours in a seven-day period, where the hours are worked in only five out of the seven days, for employees defined in subsection (1)(b) of this section.
     (5) "On-call time" means time spent by an employee who is not working on the premises of the place of employment but who is compensated for availability or who, as a condition of employment, has agreed to be available to return to the premises of the place of employment on short notice if the need arises.
     (6) "Reasonable efforts" means that the employer, to the extent reasonably possible, does all of the following but is unable to obtain staffing coverage:
     (a) Seeks individuals to volunteer to work extra time from all available qualified staff who are working;
     (b) Contacts qualified employees who have made themselves available to work extra time;
     (c) Seeks the use of per diem staff; and
     (d) Seeks personnel from a contracted temporary agency when such staffing is permitted by law or an applicable collective bargaining agreement, and when the employer regularly uses a contracted temporary agency.
     (7) "Unforeseeable emergent circumstance" means (a) any unforeseen declared national, state, or municipal emergency; (b) when a health care facility disaster plan is activated; ((or)) (c) any unforeseen disaster or other catastrophic event which substantially affects or increases the need for health care services; or (d) any unforeseen event that poses a substantial risk to public safety or the safety of other corrections officers.
     (8) "Jail" means the same as in RCW 70.48.020.

Sec. 2   RCW 49.28.140 and 2002 c 112 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section:
     (a) No employee of a health care facility may be required to work overtime. Attempts to compel or force employees of health care facilities to work overtime are contrary to public policy, and any such requirement contained in a contract, agreement, or understanding is void; and
     (b) No employee as defined in RCW 49.28.130(1)(b) may be required to work more than four hours of overtime per day. Attempts to compel or force employees to work overtime are contrary to public policy, and any such requirement contained in a contract, agreement, or understanding is void.
     (2) The acceptance by any employee of overtime is strictly voluntary, and the refusal of an employee to accept such overtime work is not grounds for discrimination, dismissal, discharge, or any other penalty, threat of reports for discipline, or employment decision adverse to the employee.
     (3) This section does not apply to overtime work that occurs:
     (a) Because of any unforeseeable emergent circumstance;
     (b) Because of prescheduled on-call time;
     (c) When the employer documents that the employer has used reasonable efforts to obtain staffing. An employer has not used reasonable efforts if overtime work is used to fill vacancies resulting from chronic staff shortages; or
     (d) When an employee is required to work overtime to complete a patient care procedure already in progress where the absence of the employee could have an adverse effect on the patient.