Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

This bill would set a national workplace violence standard for health care and social service employers. It tells the Labor Department to issue rules that make these employers create and carry out a violence prevention plan, based on federal safety guidance. Plans must include steps to find risks, fix hazards, train workers, report and investigate incidents, and keep a log of all violent events. It also bans retaliation against workers who report threats or ask for help.

It covers many settings: hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care, mental health and substance use treatment, clinics at jails or prisons, community care, independent freestanding emergency centers, home health and hospice, and emergency services and transport (including firefighters and emergency responders). Doctor and dentist offices that are not inside a covered facility, child day care, and private households that directly hire a caregiver are not covered.

• Who is affected: Employers and workers in health care and social services, plus emergency services and certain federal facilities.
• What changes: Within 6 months after the first rules come out, employers must build and start a written plan with front-line worker input; add safety measures like alarms, better lighting, staffing plans, entry rules, and team-based work; train staff each year; keep a violent incident log and post a yearly summary; review and update the plan every year; and coordinate with other employers working at the same site. The first year after the rules are issued focuses on help and guidance from the Labor Department to support compliance.
• When: The Labor Department must issue a first set of rules within 1 year, which take effect within 30 days; a final standard must follow within 42 months. If the first step is late, the law’s protections still apply until those rules are issued. Hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that get Medicare but aren’t otherwise under OSHA must also follow the standard, starting 1 year after the first rules are issued.