(a) Every health care employer shall implement a nurse coverage plan, taking into account typical patterns of staff absenteeism due to illness, leave, bereavement and other similar factors. Such plan should also reflect the health care employer's typical levels and types of patients served by the health care facility.

(b) The plan shall identify and describe as many alternative staffing methods as are available to the health care employer to ensure adequate staffing through means other than use of mandatory overtime including contracts with per diem nurses, contracts with nurse registries and employment agencies for nursing services, arrangements for assignment of nursing floats, requesting an additional day of work from off-duty employees, and development and posting of a list or roster of nurses seeking voluntary overtime.

(c) The plan must identify the supervisor(s) or administrator(s) at the health care facility or at another identified location who will make the final determination as to when it is necessary to utilize mandatory overtime. The plan may require a nurse to assist in making telephone calls consistent with the nurse coverage plan to find his or her own shift replacement, but may not require a nurse to self-mandate overtime.

(d) The plan shall require documentation of all attempts to avoid the use of mandatory overtime during a patient care emergency and seek alternative staffing through the methods identified in subdivision (b) of this section. In the event that the health care employer does utilize mandatory overtime, the documentation of such efforts to avoid the use of mandatory overtime shall be made available, upon request, to the nurse who was required to work the mandatory overtime and/or to the nurse's collective bargaining representative, provided, however, that the names and other personal identifying information about patients shall not be included unless authorized under State and Federal law and regulations.

(e) The plan shall be in writing and upon completion or amendment of such plan, it shall:

(f) Nothing herein shall be read to establish the nurse coverage plans required herein as standards to be used in assessing the health care employer's compliance with any other obligation or requirement, including facility accreditation.

(g) All such plans were to have been prepared by October 13, 2009 in accordance with emergency regulations that were in effect. For health care employers who were not operating covered facilities on October 13, 2009, a nurse coverage plan shall be in place prior to the time they commence operations.