Bush signs off on Saturday premium pay for VA nurses

Some nurses and other medical personnel at the Veterans Affairs Department will get pay boosts under legislation signed last week by President Bush. The Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Programs Enhancement Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-135) aims to improve the retention and recruitment of nurses and other hospital staff through several measures, such as granting Saturday premium pay for licensed practical nurses and other agency health care workers, including pharmacists and physical therapists. The legislation was strongly supported by the American Federation of Government Employees. "This legislative victory for AFGE is our union's first installment in our efforts to secure Saturday premium pay for all VA employees," according to AFGE lobbyist Linda Bennett. Under the current pay structure, registered nurses receive additional pay for each hour of service they work during their regular work shifts on Saturdays and Sundays, but licensed practical nurses get premium pay only for regular work on Sunday. The extra pay is equal to 25 percent of the nurses' hourly rate of basic pay. The new law requires the VA to establish a nationwide staffing policy for nurses and to report to Congress on the use of mandatory overtime, as well as examine how mandatory overtime affects medical errors. The law also requires the VA to make existing scholarship and debt reduction programs for nursing personnel more flexible. The VA employs more than 50,000 nursing personnel, but those numbers are declining, according to AFGE. From 1995 to 2000, the number of registered nurses at the VA declined by 10 percent, the number of licensed practical nurses dropped by 13 percent and the number of nurse assistants dropped by 30 percent. Concerns about low pay and mandatory overtime have made it difficult for the VA to recruit and retain highly skilled registered nurses and other health professionals. The pending retirement of a large number of nurses in the next few years is exacerbating the issue. By 2005, 35 percent of the agency's current nursing workforce will be eligible for retirement, Bennett said.