Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. ADAMS. Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Connecticut for yielding. I rise today to join my colleagues in strong support of H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.

Workplace violence impacts over 15 million healthcare workers in this country. These workers offer critical assistance to some of the most vulnerable members of our society. They work in our hospitals, our nursing homes, our hospices, and they do this, despite the fact that they are nearly five times as likely to suffer serious workplace violence injury than workers in other sectors.

And those statistics account just for physical injuries. So when the body recovers from workplace assaults, these professionals are often plagued with career-ending post-traumatic stress disorders for the rest of their lives.

So I am glad that the House is considering the gentleman from Connecticut's bill today to finally compel OSHA to create a standard to protect these workers in their places of work.

Madam Chair, it can take up to 20 years for OSHA to issue standards, as in the case of its silica and beryllium standards. Our Nation's healthcare and social service workers cannot afford to wait that long while they serve under the constant threat of violence.

H.R. 1309 takes a different approach. It would require OSHA to issue an interim standard requiring employers to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan within 1 year and a final standard within 42 months. Contrary to the claims of my friends on the other side of the aisle, this is not a radical requirement.

OSHA has already held extensive public comment on this topic since 1996, and H.R. 1309 would allow OSHA to conduct a full public comment and hearing process before a final standard is issued. Our healthcare and social service workers cannot wait, and neither can we.

Madam Chair, I include in the Record a support letter from organizations representing our Nation's healthcare and social service workers, as well as a support letter from AFL-CIO. November 20, 2019. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing nurses, social workers, psychiatric, home health and personal care aides, as well as other workers in the healthcare and social service industries, we urge you to vote yes on H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. When healthcare and social service professionals show up to work, they shouldn't have to worry about whether they are going to be injured in an assault. The many professionals who face risk of assault every day include not only those working in hospitals, clinics and mental health facilities, but also those providing services in patients' homes, and outside the four walls of an office.

Healthcare and social service workers are nearly five times more likely to be assaulted than other workers, and the violence is growing. Between 2007 and 2017, the rate of violent injuries grew by 123 percent in hospitals, 201 percent in psychiatric hospitals and substance use treatment facilities, and 28 percent in social service settings. The costs of this violence are high: in injury rates, in professionals being driven from doing the work they love, and in workers' compensation claims and staff shortages.

Currently, there is no federally enforceable violence prevention standard specifically covering healthcare and social services, and federal guidelines do not cover those working in public facilities. H.R. 1309 would require hospitals, residential treatment facilities, clinics at correctional or detention facilities, substance use disorder treatment centers, and other service facilities to develop and implement comprehensive violence prevention plans and provide whistleblower protections for workers. We hear from members about violence all the time: a nurse choked to the point of unconsciousness; a case manager who has suffered bone fractures and debilitating brain injuries from being thrown against walls and floors; social workers brutally attacked, and even killed, when conducting visits to client homes.

No one should face violence, intimidation, or fear for their safety while working to help others and save lives. Violence is not just ``part of the job,'' and studies show that prevention plans work. Many violent incidents can be predicted and minimized with the right staffing, policies and protocols; and this legislation builds upon well-established guidelines from the Department of Labor.

This bill is essential to making healthcare and social service settings safer for workers, but also safer healing environments for patients. When a patient harms a social worker or other clinician, it is traumatizing not only for the clinician but also for the patient; and it sets treatment back for months, if not years. Patients witnessing violence also are traumatized.

We urge you to support the nurses, social workers and other healthcare and social service professionals in your district by voting for H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.

Alliance for Retired Americans, American Art Therapy Association, American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, American Counseling Association, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), American Federation of Teachers, American Public Health Association, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW) of Southwestern PA, Communications Workers of America (CWA), Emergency Nurses Association, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Midstate Education & Service Foundation, National Association of County Behavioral Health & Developmental Disability Directors (NACBHDD), National Association of Rural Mental Health (NARMH), National Association of Social Workers, National COSH, National Nurses United, National Rural Social Work Caucus, People's Action, Philadelphia Area Project on Occupational Safety and Health (PhilaPOSH), Rhode Island Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (RICOSH), School Social Work Association of America, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Smart Transportation, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, United Steelworkers, Worksafe. ____ AFL-CIO, March 28, 2019. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: I am writing on behalf of the AFL-CIO to urge you to co-sponsor the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Services Workers Act (H.R. 1309). This bill, sponsored by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue a federal workplace violence prevention standard to protect workers in health care and social services from injury and death.

Workplace violence is a serious and growing safety and health problem that has reached epidemic levels. Workplace violence is now the third leading cause of job deaths, and results in more than 28,000 serious lost-time injuries each year. Nurses, medical assistants, emergency responders and social workers face some of the greatest threats, suffering more than 70% of all workplace assaults. Women workers particularly are at risk, suffering two out of every three serious workplace violence injuries.

H.R. 1309 would help protect these workers by requiring employers in the health care and social service sectors to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan, tailored to specific workplace and employee populations. As part of the plan, employers would be required to identify and correct hazards, develop systems for reporting threats of violence and injuries, provide training for workers and management and protect workers from retaliation for reporting workplace violence incidents. The bill ensures that frontline workers have input, helping employers identify common sense measures like alarm devices, lighting, security, and surveillance and monitoring systems to reduce the risk of violent assaults and injuries.

The bill's requirements for the workplace violence prevention plan are based upon existing guidelines and recommendations from OSHA, NIOSH and professional associations. Scientific studies have documented that the implementation of such prevention plans significantly reduces the incidence of workplace violence. Similar measures have been adopted in a number of states and implemented by some employers. However, currently there is no federal OSHA workplace standard, and OSHA has been slow to take action. The majority of healthcare and social service workers lack effective protection and remain at serious risk.

We urge you to support and co-sponsor H.R. 1309 to help protect health care and social service workers from the growing threat of workplace violence and unnecessary injury and death. Sincerely, William Samuel, Director, Government Affairs.

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Ms. ADAMS. I ask the House to pass without delay the gentleman from Connecticut's legislation.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Chair, let me be clear, the safety of our Nation's healthcare and social service workers is not a partisan issue. Regardless of political beliefs, all of us in this Chamber can appreciate the hard work and empathy that healthcare workers and community caregivers demonstrate every single day on the job.

Their dedication to caring for the most vulnerable members of our communities is extraordinary, and these workers deserve our gratitude, our respect, and our commitment to ensuring they are safe on the job.

The nature of the work in these industries requires healthcare and social services workers to interact directly with individuals who are experiencing tremendous stress, trauma, and grief, which can cause situations to devolve and put workers' safety at risk.

American workers should be kept out of harm's way on the job, so they can return home to their families every day healthy and safe. These caregivers deserve protections, but H.R. 1309 is not the right way to address this important issue. Our healthcare workers and caregivers deserve a thoroughly vetted and researched solution that protects them in the workplace. I think we can do better by working together.

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