Home / Guides / Nurse mandatory overtime laws
Mandatory overtime laws for nurses
No federal law stops hospitals from requiring nurses to work overtime. Several states do. In Washington, no employee of a health care facility may be required to work overtime, with exceptions for emergencies and some on-call time. In Minnesota and West Virginia a nurse can decline extra hours that would put patients at risk.
By Asier Fernández ·
States with nurse overtime laws (texts we read)
| State | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | No employee of a health care facility may be required to work overtime; refusing overtime is not grounds for discipline. Exceptions include unforeseeable emergencies and prescheduled on-call time, with limits on how on-call time can be used. | RCW 49.28.140 |
| Minnesota | A hospital may not take action against a nurse solely because the nurse declines additional consecutive hours beyond a normal work period, if the nurse believes it may jeopardize patient safety. A normal work period is defined in the statute. | Minn. Stat. 181.275 |
| West Virginia | A hospital may not mandate a nurse to accept overtime, or act against a nurse who refuses because it may jeopardize patient or employee safety. Exceptions for unforeseen emergencies, prescheduled on-call time and finishing a procedure in progress. | W. Va. Code 21-5F-3 |
| Maine (all employees) | An employer may not require more than 80 hours of overtime in any two consecutive weeks, with exceptions. | 26 M.R.S. §603 |
Other states, including Oregon, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Connecticut and Massachusetts, also restrict mandatory overtime for nurses. Their official texts were not available to us when this page was written, so they are not described here; check your state's board of nursing or labor department.
What the laws usually allow
Almost every law makes exceptions for emergencies (a disaster, a declared emergency, an unforeseen staffing crisis), for prescheduled on-call time and for finishing a procedure already under way. Several also say on-call time cannot be used as a substitute for scheduling enough staff.
What to check in your hospital's policy
- Whether the hospital is covered by your state's law: some laws cover only hospitals, others other health care facilities, and some exclude nursing facilities.
- What counts as an emergency or an unforeseen situation that allows mandatory overtime.
- How prescheduled on-call time works, and whether it can be used to cover regular staffing.
- Whether a collective bargaining agreement replaces the statute, as the West Virginia law allows.
- Which overtime pay system applies: the 40-hour workweek or 8/80.
Overtime pay on 12-hour shifts: 40-hour week or 8/80
Three 12-hour shifts in a week are 36 hours, so under the 40-hour rule there is no overtime. Under the 8/80 system the same week has 12 hours of overtime, 4 for each shift, and six shifts in 14 days (72 hours) carry 24. Ask payroll which one your hospital uses before you compare job offers.
Federal law: overtime pay, not limits
The Fair Labor Standards Act sets no limit on hours but requires overtime pay for hours over 40 in a workweek, or under the 8/80 system for hospitals: over 8 hours in a day and 80 in 14 days (29 CFR 778.601). On 12-hour shifts under 8/80, every shift carries 4 hours of overtime. Use the time card calculator to check your week and nurse shift schedules to compare rotations.
More guides
Figures are worked out from each cycle; rules checked against official sources on . How we calculate
Questions
Which states ban mandatory overtime for nurses?
Washington, Minnesota and West Virginia have laws we have read in full; several others, including Oregon, New York and New Jersey, also restrict it. Most allow exceptions for emergencies and on-call time.
What is mandatory overtime for nurses?
Being required to work beyond your scheduled shift, for example staying for another shift when relief does not arrive.
Can I be fired for refusing overtime?
In states with nurse overtime laws, such as Washington and West Virginia, refusing covered overtime is not grounds for discipline. Elsewhere it depends on your contract.
Is mandatory overtime legal under federal law?
Yes. The FLSA does not limit hours; it requires overtime pay after 40 hours a week or under the 8/80 system for hospitals.
Does on-call count as mandatory overtime?
Many state laws exclude prescheduled on-call time from the ban, but limit using it as a substitute for scheduled staff.