In 2021, Nurses and other healthcare workers in CWA successfully passed the New York State Clinical Staffing Committee law, which requires hospitals to
form staffing committees made up of frontline workers and hospital management. These committees must create unit-specific staffing plans that
establish minimum staffing levels that hospitals are legally required to follow. When staffing does not meet the approved plan, anyone can
file a complaint with the clinical staffing committee. If the staffing committee does not address or resolve the complaint, that complaint may be forwarded to the Department of Health, who has a legal obligation to enforce the staffing law, up to and including
fining the hospital for failing to meet the staffing plan.
This form is used to document staffing that does not align with Cayuga Health’s staffing plan submitted to the DOH. Please complete it as accurately and thoroughly as possible, based on what you observed during your shift.
Do not include any patient-identifying information (names, room numbers, MRNs, etc.). Please remain mindful of HIPAA requirements.You can view Cayuga Health’s required minimum staffing ratios here
As a union, we are committed to achieving safe staffing and safe patient care.
Over 40,000 staffing complaints have been filed by CWA frontline healthcare workers statewide. These complaints have led to real improvements—more staff at the bedside, break coverage by additional resource staff, and working conditions that allow nurses and other patient care staff to provide the highest quality care to patients.
Our voices matter.
Documenting staffing variances by filing complaints is one of the strongest tools we have to create change, improve our working conditions, protect our jobs, and care for our patients.
Tell Our Safe Staffing Stories:
In addition to filing out the safe staffing form, let’s collect stories of when staffing has been dangerously low and has put us and patients at risk.
Click here to tell your stories!