REPORT ON MANDATORY OVERTIME FOR NURSES AND NURSING ASSISTANTS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FACILITIES.

SEC. 126. REPORT ON MANDATORY OVERTIME FOR NURSES AND NURSING ASSISTANTS IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FACILITIES. (a) Report.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Representatives and to the National Commission on VA Nursing established under subtitle D a report on the mandatory overtime required of licensed nurses and nursing assistants providing direct patient care at Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities during 2001. (b) Mandatory Overtime.—For purposes of the report under subsection (a), mandatory overtime shall consist of any period in which a nurse or nursing assistant is mandated or otherwise required, whether directly or indirectly, to work or be in on-duty status in excess of— (1) a scheduled workshift or duty period; (2) 12 hours in any 24-hour period; or (3) 80 hours in any period of 14 consecutive days. (c) Elements.—The report under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) A description of the amount of mandatory overtime described in that subsection at each Department medical facility during the period covered by the report. (2) A description of the mechanisms employed by the Secretary to monitor overtime of the nurses and nursing assistants referred to in that subsection. (3) An assessment of the effects of the mandatory overtime of such nurses and nursing assistants on patient care, including any reported association with medical errors. 115 STAT. 2454 (4) Recommendations regarding mechanisms for preventing mandatory overtime in other than emergency situations by such nurses and nursing assistants. (5) Any other matters that the Secretary considers appropriate.