How Do California Nurse Labor Laws Protect Nurses?

Approximately 25,000 travel nurses live and work in the U.S., many of them in California. Travel nurse pay in California is protected by the golden state’s well-established labor laws.

What is Travel Nursing?

Travel nursing is an occupation that allows registered nurses to work in different states and medical facilities. While some nurses may prefer traditional nursing for its stability, others may enjoy travel nursing for its flexibility, the opportunity to see the country and experience different work environments. Additionally, travel nursing pay is very competitive. New nurses may make more as a travel nurse than they would at a single medical center. For this reason, many recent nursing graduates choose to pursue travel nursing in order to gain experience and pay off student debt.

Between 2018 and 2019, travel nursing jobs grew by more than 40%, and the occupation is projected to continue to grow. Due to COVID-19, travel nurses are in high demand.

Travel nurses are often hired for a set period of time, such as six months or a year. Often, they are hired for 13 weeks at a time. Instead of a set salary, travel nurses are generally paid an hourly rate of pay, in addition to housing and food stipends, travel reimbursements, and potential bonuses.  Many cities that are in great need of travel nurses offer enticing nursing packages with high rates of pay per week or month. However, nurses who choose these positions may be working long, hard shifts.

Thousands of travel nurses are employed in the U.S. Many of these nurses work in California, where travel nurses are in high demand. California has one of the lowest numbers of resident nurses in the U.S., making it a popular state for travel nurses to work. The state is also attractive to travel nurses due to California’s stringent nurse labor laws.

What are Travel Nurse Labor Laws in California?

Under California law, travel nurses are entitled to the same rights as other workers in the state. Even if these nurses are residents of another state or are employed by a contract agency headquartered in another state, if they work in California, they are covered by California nurse labor laws. The rights afforded to California nurses include the right to receive overtime wages for time worked in excess of eight hours per day, or 40 hours per week. Additionally, California workers are also entitled to overtime pay if they work seven consecutive days. Overtime must be paid at one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. The regular rate of pay must not only include the nurse’s hourly rate but must also factor in the values of any stipends.

Travel nurses are also entitled to meal and rest breaks. For every four hours worked, the travel nurse is entitled to take a 10-minute rest break. For nurses who work at least five hours in a given day, they are required to be provided with a 30-minute meal break. Shifts lasting at least 10 hours are required to include two 30-minute rest breaks.

Additionally, nurses are entitled to receive all of the benefits specified in their contracts. Some travel nurses have reported difficulty receiving benefits they were promised, such as housing or food stipends.

As travel nurses are compensated in so many different forms, it may be difficult for them to determine whether or not their rights are being violated under California nurse labor laws. Speaking with an experienced attorney may help ensure that you are receiving all of the compensation you are entitled to.

Nurse Labor Laws Lawsuits

Some travel nurses have successfully filed lawsuits against nursing agencies for violating nurse labor laws. In 2019, a California travel nurse filed a class action lawsuit claiming that when calculating overtime pay, her employer omitted the value of her housing and food stipends from her hourly rate of pay. This omission led to her overtime rate of pay being significantly lower than what California law dictated it should be. She also claimed that her employer did not pay its travel nurses the full amount they were owed when they left the agency. At least 100 employees were estimated to have been affected by these practices.