Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

Key Points

• Congress would require the Labor Department to set a national safety rule so health care and social service employers must prevent workplace violence.
• Covered workplaces include hospitals, nursing homes, mental health and addiction treatment centers, emergency transport, and some correctional health settings.
• Employers would have to create a written prevention plan with worker input, assess risks, add safety fixes (like alarms or secure entry), and investigate every incident.
• Workers would get training at least yearly, and employers must keep logs and records for 5 years and share them with workers while protecting patient privacy.
• The bill bans retaliation against workers who report violence or ask for help, and it ties compliance to Medicare participation for some hospitals and nursing facilities.