Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act

IIB 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1195 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 19, 2021 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions AN ACT To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires covered employ- ers within the health care and social service industries to develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 1195 RFS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workplace Violence 2 Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers 3 Act’’. 4 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. TITLE I—WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION STANDARD Sec. 101. Workplace violence prevention standard. Sec. 102. Scope and application. Sec. 103. Requirements for workplace violence prevention standard. Sec. 104. Rules of construction. Sec. 105. Other definitions. TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT Sec. 201. Application of the workplace violence prevention standard to certain facilities receiving Medicare funds. TITLE I—WORKPLACE VIOLENCE 7 PREVENTION STANDARD 8 SEC. 101. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION STANDARD. 9 (a) INTERIM FINAL STANDARD.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 12 Labor shall issue an interim final standard on work- 13 place violence prevention— 14 (A) to require certain employers in the 15 health care and social service sectors, and cer- 16 tain employers in sectors that conduct activities 17 similar to the activities in the health care and 18 social service sectors, to develop and implement 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 1195 RFS a comprehensive workplace violence prevention 1 plan and carry out other activities or require- 2 ments described in section 103 to protect health 3 care workers, social service workers, and other 4 personnel from workplace violence; 5 (B) that shall, at a minimum, be based on 6 the Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Vio- 7 lence for Healthcare and Social Service Work- 8 ers published by the Occupational Safety and 9 Health Administration of the Department of 10 Labor in 2015 and adhere to the requirements 11 of this title; and 12 (C) that provides for a period determined 13 appropriate by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 14 year, during which the Secretary shall prioritize 15 technical assistance and advice consistent with 16 section 21(d) of the Occupational Safety and 17 Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 670(d)) to em- 18 ployers subject to the standard with respect to 19 compliance with the standard. 20 (2) INAPPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF LAW AND 21 EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The following provisions of law 22 and Executive orders shall not apply to the issuance 23 of the interim final standard under this subsection: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 1195 RFS (A) The requirements applicable to occupa- 1 tional safety and health standards under section 2 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 3 of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 4 (B) The requirements of chapters 5 and 6 5 of title 5, United States Code. 6 (C) Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, 7 United States Code (commonly referred to as 8 the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). 9 (D) Executive Order No. 12866 (58 Fed. 10 Reg. 51735; relating to regulatory planning and 11 review), as amended. 12 (3) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Notwithstanding 13 paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary shall, prior to 14 issuing the interim final standard under this sub- 15 section, provide notice in the Federal Register of the 16 interim final standard and a 30-day period for pub- 17 lic comment. 18 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STAND- 19 ARD.—The interim final standard shall— 20 (A) take effect on a date that is not later 21 than 30 days after issuance, except that such 22 interim final standard may include a reasonable 23 phase-in period for the implementation of re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 1195 RFS quired engineering controls that take effect 1 after such date; 2 (B) be enforced in the same manner and 3 to the same extent as any standard promul- 4 gated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 5 Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 6 655(b)); and 7 (C) be in effect until the final standard de- 8 scribed in subsection (b) becomes effective and 9 enforceable. 10 (5) FAILURE TO PROMULGATE.—If an interim 11 final standard described in paragraph (1) is not 12 issued not later than 1 year of the date of enactment 13 of this Act, the provisions of this title shall be in ef- 14 fect and enforced in the same manner and to the 15 same extent as any standard promulgated under sec- 16 tion 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 17 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) until such provisions are super- 18 seded in whole by an interim final standard issued 19 by the Secretary that meets the requirements of 20 paragraph (1). 21 (b) FINAL STANDARD.— 22 (1) PROPOSED STANDARD.—Not later than 2 23 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 24 Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 1195 RFS the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 1 655), promulgate a proposed standard on workplace 2 violence prevention— 3 (A) for the purposes described in sub- 4 section (a)(1)(A); and 5 (B) that shall include, at a minimum, re- 6 quirements contained in the interim final stand- 7 ard promulgated under subsection (a). 8 (2) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 42 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 10 Secretary shall issue a final standard on such pro- 11 posed standard that shall— 12 (A) provide no less protection than any 13 workplace violence standard adopted by a State 14 plan that has been approved by the Secretary 15 under section 18 of the Occupational Safety 16 and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667), pro- 17 vided the Secretary finds that the final stand- 18 ard is feasible on the basis of the best available 19 evidence; and 20 (B) be effective and enforceable in the 21 same manner and to the same extent as any 22 standard promulgated under section 6(b) of the 23 Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 24 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 HR 1195 RFS SEC. 102. SCOPE AND APPLICATION. 1 In this title: 2 (1) COVERED FACILITY.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered fa- 4 cility’’ includes the following: 5 (i) Any hospital, including any spe- 6 cialty hospital, in-patient or outpatient set- 7 ting, or clinic operating within a hospital 8 license, or any setting that provides out- 9 patient services. 10 (ii) Any residential treatment facility, 11 including any nursing home, skilled nurs- 12 ing facility, hospice facility, Alzheimer’s 13 and memory care facility, and long-term 14 care facility. 15 (iii) Any non-residential treatment or 16 service setting. 17 (iv) Any medical treatment or social 18 service setting or clinic at a correctional or 19 detention facility. 20 (v) Any community care setting, in- 21 cluding a community-based residential fa- 22 cility, group home, and mental health clin- 23 ic. 24 (vi) Any psychiatric treatment facility. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 HR 1195 RFS (vii) Any drug abuse or substance use 1 disorder treatment center. 2 (viii) Any independent freestanding 3 emergency centers. 4 (ix) Any facility described in clauses 5 (i) through (viii) operated by a Federal 6 Government agency and required to comply 7 with occupational safety and health stand- 8 ards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, 9 Code of Federal Regulations (as such sec- 10 tion is in effect on the date of enactment 11 of this Act). 12 (x) Any other facility the Secretary 13 determines should be covered under the 14 standards promulgated under section 101. 15 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered facil- 16 ity’’ does not include an office of a physician, 17 dentist, podiatrist, or any other health practi- 18 tioner that is not physically located within a 19 covered facility described in clauses (i) through 20 (x) of subparagraph (A). 21 (2) COVERED SERVICES.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered 23 service’’ includes the following services and op- 24 erations: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 HR 1195 RFS (i) Any services and operations pro- 1 vided in any field work setting, including 2 home health care, home-based hospice, and 3 home-based social work. 4 (ii) Any emergency services and trans- 5 port, including such services provided by 6 firefighters and emergency responders. 7 (iii) Any services described in clauses 8 (i) and (ii) performed by a Federal Gov- 9 ernment agency and required to comply 10 with occupational safety and health stand- 11 ards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, 12 Code of Federal Regulations (as such sec- 13 tion is in effect on the date of enactment 14 of this Act). 15 (iv) Any other services and operations 16 the Secretary determines should be covered 17 under the standards promulgated under 18 section 101. 19 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered serv- 20 ice’’ does not include child day care services. 21 (3) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered em- 23 ployer’’ includes a person (including a con- 24 tractor, subcontractor, a temporary service 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 HR 1195 RFS firm, or an employee leasing entity) that em- 1 ploys an individual to work at a covered facility 2 or to perform covered services. 3 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered em- 4 ployer’’ does not include an individual who pri- 5 vately employs, in the individual’s residence, a 6 person to perform covered services for the indi- 7 vidual or a family member of the individual. 8 (4) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 9 employee’’ includes an individual employed by a cov- 10 ered employer to work at a covered facility or to per- 11 form covered services. 12 SEC. 103. REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKPLACE VIOLENCE 13 PREVENTION STANDARD. 14 Each standard described in section 101 shall include, 15 at a minimum, the following requirements: 16 (1) WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION 17 PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the date of 18 promulgation of the interim final standard under 19 section 101(a), a covered employer shall develop, im- 20 plement, and maintain an effective written workplace 21 violence prevention plan (in this section referred to 22 as the ‘‘Plan’’) for covered employees at each cov- 23 ered facility and for covered employees performing a 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 HR 1195 RFS covered service on behalf of such employer, which 1 meets the following: 2 (A) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—Each Plan— 3 (i) shall be developed and imple- 4 mented with the meaningful participation 5 of direct care employees, other employees, 6 and employee representatives, for all as- 7 pects of the Plan; 8 (ii) shall be tailored and specific to 9 conditions and hazards for the covered fa- 10 cility or the covered service, including pa- 11 tient-specific risk factors and risk factors 12 specific to each work area or unit; 13 (iii) shall be suitable for the size, com- 14 plexity, and type of operations at the cov- 15 ered facility or for the covered service, and 16 remain in effect at all times; and 17 (iv) may be in consultation with stake- 18 holders or experts who specialize in work- 19 place violence prevention, emergency re- 20 sponse, or other related areas of expertise 21 for all relevant aspects of the Plan. 22 (B) PLAN CONTENT.—Each Plan shall in- 23 clude procedures and methods for the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 HR 1195 RFS (i) Identification of the individual and 1 the individual’s position responsible for im- 2 plementation of the Plan. 3 (ii) With respect to each work area 4 and unit at the covered facility or while 5 covered employees are performing the cov- 6 ered service, risk assessment and identi- 7 fication of workplace violence risks and 8 hazards to employees exposed to such risks 9 and hazards (including environmental risk 10 factors and patient-specific risk factors), 11 which shall be— 12 (I) informed by past violent inci- 13 dents specific to such covered facility 14 or such covered service; and 15 (II) conducted with, at a min- 16 imum— 17 (aa) direct care employees; 18 (bb) where applicable, the 19 representatives of such employ- 20 ees; and 21 (cc) the employer. 22 (iii) Hazard prevention, engineering 23 controls, or work practice controls to cor- 24 rect hazards, in a timely manner, applying 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:31 Apr 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1195.RFS H1195 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 HR 1195 RFS industrial hygiene principles of the hier- 1 archy of controls, which— 2 (I) may include security and 3 alarm systems, adequate exit routes, 4 monitoring systems, barrier protec- 5 tion, established areas for patients 6 and clients, lighting, entry procedures, 7 staffing and working in teams, and 8 systems to identify and flag clients 9 with a history of violence; and 10 (II) shall ensure that employers 11 correct, in a timely manner, hazards 12 identified in any violent incident in- 13 vestigation described in paragraph (2) 14 and any annual report described in 15 paragraph (5 [Text truncated for display. 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