Federal legislation that would deny overtime pay to several categories of American workers, including nurses, could be implemented soon. Despite a bipartisan effort and testimony by a member of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association (PSNA) on behalf of nurses across the country, efforts to protect nurses and certain other workers from the legislation have failed.

The new regulation from the Department of Labor changes the ground rules for determining which employees can earn premium pay for working more than 40 hours in 1 week. An amendment to the bill, which would have protected nurses, failed in part because the new regulation has strong backing from the Bush Administration.

As we went to press, the legislation had passed both houses of Congress and was awaiting President Bush's signature. For updates, check the PSNA Web site at http://www.psna.org.