Wilkes-Barre (Pa.) General Hospital has agreed to pay $12,000 as part of a settlement agreement with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry's Bureau of Labor Law Compliance regarding alleged violations of the state's Prohibition of Excessive Overtime in Healthcare Act.
The settlement agreement stems from allegations that the hospital violated the overtime law from Feb. 7, 2016, to Feb. 4, 2022, according to the agreement, which was shared with Becker's. The law bans hospitals from requiring employees involved in direct patient care or clinical care services who are paid hourly or who are classified as nonsupervisory employees for collective bargaining purposes to work more than agreed to, predetermined, and regularly scheduled work shifts.
According to a news release from the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association, an affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals, 42 complainants from Wilkes-Barre were slated to provide testimony before the settlement agreement was reached.
The settlement agreement stated that the hospital "denies each and every alleged violation of the Act," and that "to avoid the cost, expenses and uncertainty of the referenced hearing," the parties agreed to the settlement.
"It's a win for everyone," longtime cardiovascular ICU nurse Joyce Sciandra, RN, vice president of the Wyoming Valley Nurses Association at Wilkes-Barre and a complainant in the case, said in the union's release.
"It's a win for nurses, who won't be forced to stay beyond their shifts; it’s a win for patients, who won't have nurses who are exhausted and working well beyond their shifts; and it's a win for administration because if staff feels happy and feels that administration cares about them, it reflects well on them."
Annmarie Poslock, a spokesperson for the hospital, shared a statement with The Citizens' Voice, saying state officials found that out of roughly 60,000 shifts at the hospital from 2016 to 2022, there were questions regarding how nurses were required to stay on 42 of the shifts, almost all in two departments and in some cases for as short as 30 minutes to complete providing care during the nursing challenges due to the pandemic.
"The hospital appealed the bureau's finding and rather than spend the time and energy on a weekslong hearing, both the bureau and the hospital agreed to resolve this matter before the Bureau put on any evidence to support its finding," Ms. Poslock said.
"WBGH has at all times complied with both the letter and spirit of the law regarding mandatory overtime, which permits healthcare providers in Pennsylvania to require nurses and others to continue working when necessary for patient care, and will continue to do so in providing the best possible care to the Wyoming Valley community."
In addition to the payment of $12,000, the settlement agreement requires Wilkes-Barre to host a mandatory virtual training once a year for three years, conducted by the bureau, for managers and supervisors responsible for staffing of non-physician direct patient care employees. It also requires the hospital to provide the bureau with a list of open and available direct patient care positions, every six months for three years.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, there were a total of 142 cases involving the healthcare overtime law across the state last year.