The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, introduced March 8, would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to create a standard that would require health care facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans, according to an article on the Safety and Health magazine.
The legislation follows regulation enacted in 2014 in California, which went into effect in 2017, directing Cal/OSHA to craft a workplace violence prevention standard.
The California law requires all covered healthcare employers to develop and issue – by April 1 – plans to prevent workplace violence and ensure the safety of patients and workers.
The federal bill is similar: Workplaces would create and implement comprehensive violence prevention plans with input from doctors, nurses and custodial workers. The bill stresses prevention, training and worker participation. It defines workplace violence broadly to include not only physical acts of violence, but threats of violence. It emphasizes staffing as a crucial ingredient in preventing violence from occurring and responding quickly when it does.
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