1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; prohibiting certain actions by 
  1.3             health care facilities when nurses decline to work 
  1.4             additional hours; amending Minnesota Statutes 2000, 
  1.5             section 148.263, subdivision 2; proposing coding for 
  1.6             new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 144. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [144.582] [PROHIBITING CERTAIN ACTIONS AGAINST 
  1.9   NURSES.] 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [PROHIBITED ACTIONS.] Except as provided in 
  1.11  subdivision 2, a hospital or other entity licensed under 
  1.12  sections 144.50 to 144.58, and its agent; a hospice licensed 
  1.13  under section 144A.48, and its agent; or another health care 
  1.14  facility licensed by the commissioner of health, and the 
  1.15  facility's agent, is prohibited from taking action against a 
  1.16  nurse solely on the grounds that the nurse fails to accept an 
  1.17  assignment of additional consecutive hours at the facility in 
  1.18  excess of an agreed upon, predetermined work shift, if the nurse 
  1.19  declines to work additional hours because doing so may, in the 
  1.20  nurse's judgment, jeopardize patient safety.  A nurse who fails 
  1.21  to accept additional hours under this subdivision must document 
  1.22  in writing why, in the nurse's judgment, the additional work 
  1.23  hours may jeopardize patient safety.  This subdivision does not 
  1.24  apply to a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for 
  1.25  persons with mental retardation, or a licensed boarding care 
  1.26  facility. 
  2.1      Subd. 2.  [EMERGENCY.] Notwithstanding subdivision 1, a 
  2.2   nurse may be scheduled for duty or required to continue on duty 
  2.3   for more than one normal work period in an emergency. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [DEFINITIONS.] For purposes of this section, the 
  2.5   following terms have the meanings given them: 
  2.6      (1) "emergency" means a period when replacement staff are 
  2.7   not able to report for duty for the next shift because of 
  2.8   unusual circumstances such as a disease outbreak, adverse 
  2.9   weather conditions, natural disasters, or, in the case of nurse 
  2.10  supervisors, a strike; 
  2.11     (2) "normal work period" means 12 or fewer consecutive 
  2.12  hours consistent with a predetermined work shift; 
  2.13     (3) "nurse" has the meaning given in section 148.171, 
  2.14  subdivision 9; and 
  2.15     (4) "taking action against" means discharging; 
  2.16  disciplining; threatening; reporting to the board of nursing; 
  2.17  discriminating against; or penalizing regarding compensation, 
  2.18  terms, conditions, location, or privileges of employment. 
  2.19     Subd. 4.  [NOTIFICATION.] Each health care facility subject 
  2.20  to subdivision 1 shall post on each nursing unit in an area to 
  2.21  which all employees have access the following statement:  "This 
  2.22  facility is prohibited by law from taking any action against a 
  2.23  nurse who fails to accept a request or order to work additional 
  2.24  hours at the facility in excess of the predetermined work shift 
  2.25  if, in the nurse's judgment, working the additional hours may 
  2.26  jeopardize patient safety."  The facility shall also post 
  2.27  adjacent to the statement the telephone number of the Minnesota 
  2.28  department of health facility and provider compliance division. 
  2.29     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 148.263, 
  2.30  subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  2.31     Subd. 2.  [INSTITUTIONS.] (a) The chief nursing executive 
  2.32  or chief administrative officer of any hospital, clinic, prepaid 
  2.33  medical plan, or other health care institution or organization 
  2.34  located in this state shall report to the board any action taken 
  2.35  by the institution or organization or any of its administrators 
  2.36  or committees to revoke, suspend, limit, or condition a nurse's 
  3.1   privilege to practice in the institution, or as part of the 
  3.2   organization, any denial of privileges, any dismissal from 
  3.3   employment, or any other disciplinary action.  The institution 
  3.4   or organization shall also report the resignation of any nurse 
  3.5   before the conclusion of any disciplinary proceeding, or before 
  3.6   commencement of formal charges, but after the nurse had 
  3.7   knowledge that formal charges were contemplated or in 
  3.8   preparation.  The reporting described by this subdivision is 
  3.9   required only if the action pertains to grounds for disciplinary 
  3.10  action under section 148.261. 
  3.11     (b) This subdivision does not require any entity to report 
  3.12  the refusal of a nurse to accept an assignment of additional 
  3.13  hours in excess of an agreed upon, predetermined work schedule.