Galloway offers bills to protect jobs of citizens and legal residents

A public hearing was recently held on my legislation that would reduce the number of illegal workers in Pennsylvania. Click here to hear my comments at the hearing. House Bills 1502 and 1503 would require contractors to verify the employment eligibility of their employees. Click here to read the news release.

Illegal aliens willing to work under the radar and for less pay, and unscrupulous contractors and their supporters willing to hire them, are pushing hard-working Pennsylvanians from the payrolls to the unemployment rolls.

I believe with your support these pieces of legislation can move forward to protect the jobs of Pennsylvania residents and those here legally.

Galloway supports expansion of COBRA

Working for the Pennsylvania worker isn't just about creating and protecting jobs. It's also about protecting health benefits.

Legislation that I co-sponsored making COBRA health-insurance coverage available to Pennsylvania businesses with fewer than 20 employees was recently signed into law.

Act 2 of 2009 gives employees of small companies the option to continue health-care coverage for themselves and their families when they leave their jobs. With nearly 250,000 businesses in Pennsylvania with 19 or fewer employees, this new law has the potential to help hundreds of thousands of people.

The economy is hitting our small businesses hard. Employees shouldn't be forced to join the ranks of the uninsured when they become unemployed.

The new law also extends 65 percent reduction in COBRA premiums authorized under the federal stimulus law to workers laid off from small businesses for up to nine months.

More information on federal COBRA requirements is available from the U.S. Department of Labor by calling toll free 1-866-444-3272 or visiting www.dol.gov/cobra.

Rep. Galloway votes to end mandatory overtime for nurses

A bill I co-sponsored that would prohibit hospitals and other health-care facilities from forcing nurses and other direct patient care workers to work overtime has been signed by the governor.

Numerous studies have shown that mandatory overtime puts nurses at a greater risk of making medical errors, increasing the long-term cost of health care. Yet 16-hour days and 80-hour weeks are the norm for many Pennsylvania nurses. Our nurses provide direct patient care, responsible for monitoring vital signs and giving drugs as prescribed by physicians. Ending mandatory overtime will not only help to ensure our nurses are at the top of their game when they arrive for their shifts, but will also improve their quality of life by allowing them much needed and well-deserved time to relax with their families.

Act 102, sponsored by state Rep. Dan Surra, D-Elk/Clearfield, takes effect July 1, 2009. It prohibits hospitals and other health-care facilities from mandating overtime for nurses except in specific emergencies or when unforeseen staffing shortages could compromise patient safety. While the bill allows nurses to voluntarily work overtime, it prohibits hospitals from disciplining or firing nurses who refuse to work overtime.