Should Congress require workplace violence prevention programs?
Bill Summary
H.R. 1195, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Workers Act, seeks to decrease the amount of workplace violence that Health Care and Social Workers are exposed to. To do so, the legislation compels the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a standard requiring employers to design and implement a workplace violence prevention program. The bill would also extend protections to workers in states, not under OSHA supervision working in the public sector. Finally, the legislation provides employees with protection from retaliation if they report instances of workplace violence.
Sponsor: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat, California, District 18)
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Opponents say
• "The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, the federal agency that helps ensure safe and healthful working conditions, is currently working on a workplace violence prevention rule for health care and social assistance workplaces, which includes gathering important stakeholder input to create the most feasible and effective federal safety and health standard possible. However, by requiring OSHA to circumvent established rulemaking procedures under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, [H.R. 1195] would undermine and threaten this ongoing collaborative and evidence-based process by denying OSHA the ability to be responsive to important feedback from the public and impacted stakeholders."
Source: Rep. Virginia Foxx (Republican, North Carolina, District 5)
• "America’s hospitals and health systems are committed to a culture of safety for every worker, patient, and family member who enters our facilities. However, because hospitals have already implemented specifically tailored policies and programs to address workplace violence, we do not believe that the OSHA standards required by H.R. 1195 are warranted, nor do we support an expedited approach that would deny the public the opportunity to review and comment on proposed regulations. Further, the prohibitive costs that the mandates in the bill would impose on America's hospitals, particularly on those that provide care in rural and underserved areas, could strain scarce resources and jeopardize patient care. These mandates would burden health care providers that are struggling to maintain services during the most deadly public health emergency in 100 years." Source: American Hospital Association
• "America’s hospitals and health systems are committed to a culture of safety for every worker, patient, and family member who enters our facilities. However, because hospitals have already implemented specifically tailored policies and programs to address workplace violence, we do not believe that the OSHA standards required by H.R. 1195 are warranted, nor do we support an expedited approach that would deny the public the opportunity to review and comment on proposed regulations. Further, the prohibitive costs that the mandates in the bill would impose on America's hospitals, particularly on those that provide care in rural and underserved areas, could strain scarce resources and jeopardize patient care. These mandates would burden health care providers that are struggling to maintain services during the most deadly public health emergency in 100 years." Source: American Hospital Association
Proponents say
• "Our nation’s caregivers – including nurses, social workers, and many others who dedicate their lives to caring for those in need – suffer workplace violence injuries at far higher rates than any other profession. Last year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that health care and social service workers were nearly five times as likely to suffer a serious workplace violence injury than workers in other sectors … There is currently no OSHA standard that requires employers to implement violence prevention plans that would help reduce workplace violence injuries among health care and social service workers. The lack of an enforceable standard means that OSHA, the federal agency created to protect workers’ safety, has few meaningful tools to protect health care workers from the threat of workplace violence."
Source: Rep. Robert Scott(Democrat, Virginia, District 3)
• "Rates of violence against healthcare workers are up to 12 times higher than rates for the overall workforce, and 70% of nonfatal workplace assaults in 2016 occurred in the health care and social assistance sectors. Recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a sharp increase in serious injuries as a result of workplace violence among health care workers last year. Front line employees in these settings interact with a range of patients, clients, and their families, often with little training or direction for how to prevent or handle interactions that become violent. The Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care and Social Services Act would ensure that health care and social service workplaces adopt proven prevention techniques and are prepared to respond in the tragic event of a violent incident." Source: Rep. Joe Courtney (Democrat, Connecticut, District 2)
• "Rates of violence against healthcare workers are up to 12 times higher than rates for the overall workforce, and 70% of nonfatal workplace assaults in 2016 occurred in the health care and social assistance sectors. Recently released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a sharp increase in serious injuries as a result of workplace violence among health care workers last year. Front line employees in these settings interact with a range of patients, clients, and their families, often with little training or direction for how to prevent or handle interactions that become violent. The Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care and Social Services Act would ensure that health care and social service workplaces adopt proven prevention techniques and are prepared to respond in the tragic event of a violent incident." Source: Rep. Joe Courtney (Democrat, Connecticut, District 2)
- Workplace Violence Prevention For Healthcare And Social Service Workers Act (Press Release)
- AHA Expresses Concern with the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care & Social Service Workers Act (AHA)
- House Education and Labor Committee Fact Sheet on H.R. 1195 (Press Release)
- We can't afford to lose one more nurse — passing a workplace violence prevention bill would help (The Hill Opinion)
- What the New House Bill on Workplace Violence Prevention Would Mean for Health Care Workers (Newsweek)
