Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

This bill, titled the "Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act," directs the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard aimed at preventing workplace violence. Within one year of enactment, an interim final standard must be issued, followed by a final standard within 42 months, requiring covered employers in the health care and social service sectors to implement comprehensive violence prevention measures. These standards will be based on existing OSHA guidelines and will protect health care and social service workers from various forms of workplace violence. The required workplace violence prevention plan must be developed with meaningful employee participation and tailored to specific facility or service conditions. It mandates procedures for identifying and assessing workplace violence risks, including environmental and patient-specific factors. Employers must implement hazard prevention strategies, such as engineering controls like security systems and barrier protection, and work practice controls like adequate staffing and de-escalation training. Furthermore, the standard requires robust procedures for reporting, responding to, and investigating violent incidents, ensuring affected employees receive medical care and counseling. Employers must maintain detailed violent incident logs and records of investigations for five years, making them accessible to employees while protecting patient privacy. The bill also includes provisions for annual training, regular plan evaluations, and a strict anti-retaliation policy to protect employees who report incidents or exercise their rights. The scope of the bill covers a wide range of covered facilities , including hospitals, nursing homes, and community care settings, as well as covered services like home health care and emergency transport. Significantly, it amends the Social Security Act to require hospitals and skilled nursing facilities that are not otherwise subject to OSHA to comply with this new standard as a condition for receiving Medicare funds, ensuring broader protection for workers in these critical sectors.