Oregon workplace regulators have fined Portland's Unity Center for Behavioral Health $1,650 for failing to take steps to prevent future assaults on employees by patients with mental illness, according to an article on The Oregonian website.
An investigation by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHA) has found that Unity has violated four safety rules and regulations.
OSHA found that Unity has failed to properly log, document or investigate some of the roughly 300 assaults suffered by employees in the first seven months of operation, according to the state investigation.
During interviews, some employees told OSHA investigators they wouldn’t report minor assaults such as a punch in the face because they didn’t want to appear to be complainers or feared that they might be viewed negatively by administration. Others said they hadn’t noticed safety changes after previous reports of assaults were made, so they didn’t bother reporting new assaults, according to the OSHA report.
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