WASHINGTON - Today, Representative Chrissy Houlahan voted to pass H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. She is a cosponsor of the bill, which would require the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in the health care and social service sectors. Specifically, the Department of Labor must promulgate an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain employers in the health care and social service sectors, as well as employers in sectors that conduct activities similar to the activities in the health care and social service sectors, to develop and implement a comprehensive plan for protecting health care workers, social service workers, and other personnel from workplace violence. The bill passed the House 209-205.

 

“Health care and social service workers are on the front lines of caring for those in our community and across our country” said Houlahan. “Over the last decade, workplace violence in both the health care and social service sectors have increased by 80 percent. These hardworking Americans deserve to have our full support in protecting themselves from workplace violence. I am proud to have cosponsored and passed this legislation, which will provide these long overdue protections to those in our community working in the health care and social service sectors.”

 

“Whether it is the nurse in a hospital emergency room, nursing home or home healthcare provider these workers are enormously important to our communities and deserve respect in the form of a safe and violence-free workplace,” said Tom Tosti, Director of AFSCME Director Council 88. “They also deserve a voice in the process of developing workplace violence prevention plans. The bill ensures that front line workers will have a seat at the table as employers identify and implement controls such as training; improved staffing; personal alarm device, surveillance and monitoring systems; or other evidence-based practices to keep workers safe. I thank Rep. Houlahan for her support on this bill.”

 

This bill will:

• Provide health and social service workers the protection they deserve by compelling OSHA to issue an interim final standard within one year and a final standard within 42 months, requiring employers within the health care and social service sectors to develop and implement comprehensive violence prevention programs to prevent or mitigate violent incidents in the workplace using proven prevention techniques tailored to the risks in a given workplace.
• Require employers, in developing their workplace violence prevention programs, to identify risks, specify solutions, and require training, reporting, and incident investigations.
• Provide protections to workers from retaliation for reporting violent incidents in the workplace.
• Protect health care and social service workers in the public sector in the 24 states not covered by OSHA.

 

Houlahan is an Air Force veteran, an engineer, a serial entrepreneur, an educator, and a nonprofit leader. She’s in her first term representing Pennsylvania’s 6th Congressional District, which encompasses Chester County and southern Berks County. She serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the House Small Business Committee.

 

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