Government Officials Re-Introduce Violence Prevention Legislation

Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) re-introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to curb the rising rates of workplace violence facing healthcare and social service workers, including nurses, emergency responders, medical assistants, physicians, and social workers.   

The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act compels the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop an enforceable standard to ensure that employers are creating safe workplaces that their employees deserve, sooner rather than later. 

The bill is supported by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers, including Rep. Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-03), Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02), Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ-02) 

The bill has received support from a host of healthcare and social service professionals, as well as unions representing workers in these sectors, including: 

• Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses; American Psychiatric Association;  
• AFGE;  
• AFL-CIO;  
• AFSCME; AFT;  
• American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work;  
• American College of Emergency Physicians;  
• American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; 
• American Industrial Hygiene Association; American Nephrology Nurses Association;  
• American Nurses Association;  
• American Public Health Association; 
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association;  
• Coalition of Labor Union Women;  
• Emergency Nurses Association;  
• IAM;  
• National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians;  
• National Association of Social Workers;  
• National Nurses United;  
• PhilaPOSH;  
• USW. 

“No worker—especially those we rely on for care—should be injured or killed on the job. Unfortunately, this workforce endures more violence than any other workforce in America, and rates are rising as employers struggle to fill vacancies in needed health care sectors. If we want to fill vacancies and retain workers, then we must protect workers on the job,” saysRep. Joe Courtney.  “This legislation would put proven tactics into practice in hospitals and health care settings across the country to prevent violence before it happens. I’m grateful for the bipartisan coalition— backed by the support of the workers directly affected by this violence—who has worked tirelessly to move this legislation forward.”