SB 780 Summary

• Prohibits state facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, State Department of State Hospitals, and State Department of Developmental Services from requiring psychiatric technicians (PTs) and psychiatric technician assistants (PTAs) to work beyond their regularly scheduled shifts, except in emergencies or specific medical situations.

• Allows PTs and PTAs to volunteer for additional hours, but prohibits employers from penalizing, discriminating against, or terminating employees who refuse overtime or treating refusal as patient abandonment.

• Requires management to fulfill additional staffing needs by prioritizing: (1) employees who volunteer for extra hours, (2) part-time or intermittent employees, and (3) employees on call or on standby, before resorting to mandatory overtime.

• Creates exemptions for mandatory overtime in cases of: surgical procedures requiring continued presence, catastrophic facility events with insufficient staff capacity, and declared emergency situations (natural disasters, disease outbreaks, terrorism, etc.).

• Does not affect existing psychiatric technician licensing laws or professional standards of competent performance, and allows facilities to provide greater protections against mandatory overtime than this bill requires.