Several states have passed hospital workplace violence bills in recent weeks, adding to the growing list of states working to enhance healthcare employee safety.
Most recently, on May 19, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed House Bill 1162, which builds off a workplace violence prevention law passed in 2019, WSNA reports. The enhanced bill requires a more regular and detailed review of workplace violence incident-related data by a previously established committee. It also requires updates be made to safety plans on an annual basis instead of every three years. The bill passed the legislature with unanimous support. It goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
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In April, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed a similar bill into law. Sponsored by Rep. Mari Cordes, House Bill 259 requires Vermont hospitals to create security plans and establish a team to advise on plan development, Becker’s Hospital Review reports. The development team must include healthcare workers who provide direct patient care and law enforcement personnel. Each hospital must also designate an employee trained in trauma-informed care and victim support to serve as a law enforcement liaison.
Hospital security plans must be developed based on a security risk assessment completed in consultation with the hospital’s medical and nursing department directors. The bill offers hospitals a framework for conducting the risk assessments and to help identify the best strategies to prevent violence based on patient volume, community crime, and law enforcement availability. Hospitals must also implement workplace violence incident reporting systems.
Additional States Pushing for Hospital Workplace Violence Prevention Legislation
Other states are in the process of introducing or advancing workplace violence prevention legislation. On May 6, the Pennsylvania House passed the Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention Act, which would establish violence prevention committees in all hospitals. The committees would be composed of at least half non-managerial workers to review all incidents and initiate needed policy changes to protect workers.
Motivated by the recent shooting at University of Pittsburgh Memorial Center Hospital, the bill would also require hospitals to perform annual risk assessments to identify safety and security threats, as well as develop a prevention program to reduce and prevent violence. The legislation now goes before the Senate.
In Alaska, Senate Bill 49, which was prefiled on Jan. 17, 2025, would enable employers in Alaska to file for workplace violence protective orders against individuals who have committed an act of violence against an employer or employee in a workplace or who made “a threat of violence against the employer or an employee that can reasonably be construed as a threat that may be carried out at the employer’s workplace.”
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In Massachusetts, HD.3502 and SD.1639 would require healthcare employers to conduct annual risk assessments to identify factors that may put employees at risk of workplace violence and develop a program to minimize these dangers. Employers would be required to create a written violence prevention plan, make it available to employees and labor organizations, and designate a senior manager “responsible for the development and support of an in-house crisis response team for employee-victims of workplace violence.”
Also in Massachusetts, Bill HD.2124 and SD.1307 would mandate that home healthcare employers provide annual comprehensive workplace safety training and develop programs to minimize workplace violence risks for home healthcare workers. Employers would be required to conduct safety assessments of service settings, provide workers with communication devices and alarms, and allow workers to refuse service in dangerous situations without penalty.
According to Ogletree Deakins, additional states that are considering healthcare workplace violence prevention legislation include:
- Ohio: House Bill (HB) 452
- Oregon: House Bill (HB) 2552
- Washington: Substitute House Bill (HB) 1162
- Wyoming: House Bill No. HB0155
Other states that already have laws or regulations that require healthcare employers to implement workplace violence prevention programs include:
- California
- Connecticut
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oregon
- Texas
While violence in the workplace significantly impacts many industries, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers account for 73% of all non-fatal workplace injuries and illnesses.
