Should the Department of Labor create violence-protection standards?
Bill Summary
This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence for people in the health care and social services sectors by creating occupational health and safety standards requiring a plan from employers in these fields. In this bill, employers must also investigate instances of violence, keep records, provide training, and prohibit discrimination or retaliation against workers for reporting violence. Sponsor: Rep. Joe Courtney (Democrat, Connecticut, District 2)
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Opponents say
• “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. 1309 are warranted, nor do we support an expedited approach that would deny the public the opportunity to review and comment on proposed regulations.” - American Hospital Association
• “No one is more interested in having a safe workplace more than the hospitals… What’s the hurry? Why don’t we do this in a bipartisan way? We could have the American Hospital Association in to testify and see what their issues are. That’s what I would recommend.” - Rep. Phil Roe (Republican, Tennessee, District 1)
• “Health care workers are familiar with the Hippocratic Oath: ‘First do no harm.’ In its rush to judgment, H.R. 1309 does great harm by short-circuiting the public input process and prescribing a specific end result from the beginning.” - Rep. Virginia Foxx (Republican, North Carolina, District 5)
• “No one is more interested in having a safe workplace more than the hospitals… What’s the hurry? Why don’t we do this in a bipartisan way? We could have the American Hospital Association in to testify and see what their issues are. That’s what I would recommend.” - Rep. Phil Roe (Republican, Tennessee, District 1)
• “Health care workers are familiar with the Hippocratic Oath: ‘First do no harm.’ In its rush to judgment, H.R. 1309 does great harm by short-circuiting the public input process and prescribing a specific end result from the beginning.” - Rep. Virginia Foxx (Republican, North Carolina, District 5)
Proponents say
• “Health care and social service workers face a disproportionate amount of violence at work, and the data shows that these incidents are on the rise… Safety experts, employees, and Members of Congress have been pressing OSHA to address this outsized risk of violence for years, but have seen no meaningful action. This legislation is the result of a five-year process to build the foundation for long overdue change to protect America’s caring professions, and would require OSHA to issue a Workplace Violence Prevention Standard, giving workers the security that their employers are implementing proven practices to reduce the risk of violence on the job.” - Rep. Joe Courtney (Democrat, Connecticut, District 2)
• “Workplace violence against health care and social service workers continues to threaten those who dedicate their lives to caring for others… This bill helps address this growing problem by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set an enforceable standard that will protect workers from preventable acts of workplace violence.” - Rep. Robert Scott (Democrat, Virginia, District 3)
• “Every year, more than 850 workers are killed on the job and another 28,000 suffer serious injury… The Workplace Violence Prevention and Social Services Workers Act sends the message that ‘enough is enough’ — setting a national standard that forces employers to take seriously the health and safety of American workers. I am proud to stand with Rep. Courtney and Chairman Scott in support of this effort, and look forward to its consideration by the House.” - Rep. Alma Adams (Democrat, North Carolina, District 12)
• “Workplace violence against health care and social service workers continues to threaten those who dedicate their lives to caring for others… This bill helps address this growing problem by requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set an enforceable standard that will protect workers from preventable acts of workplace violence.” - Rep. Robert Scott (Democrat, Virginia, District 3)
• “Every year, more than 850 workers are killed on the job and another 28,000 suffer serious injury… The Workplace Violence Prevention and Social Services Workers Act sends the message that ‘enough is enough’ — setting a national standard that forces employers to take seriously the health and safety of American workers. I am proud to stand with Rep. Courtney and Chairman Scott in support of this effort, and look forward to its consideration by the House.” - Rep. Alma Adams (Democrat, North Carolina, District 12)
- Congressman Courtney Introduces Legislation To Reduce Violence Against Health Care And Social Service Workers (Press Release)
- Facing Escalating Workplace Violence, Hospital Employees Have Had Enough (NPR)
- Bill aims to curb workplace violence in health care, social services (Business Insurance)
- Health-Care Worker Violence Rule Could Cost Billions (Bloomberg Environment)
- Violence has no place in the workplace (The Hill, Opinion)
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