Bill > A595

Introduced Session

This bill prohibits the disclosure of personal information pertaining to certain health care workers who are assaulted by a patient or resident of a health care facility to prevent further violence, threats or intimidation against the victim. Specifically, the bill prohibits the disclosure of the name and address of a victim of an alleged simple assault, aggravated assault, sexual assault, or aggravated sexual assault on a report, statement, court document, indictment, or complaint which is provided to the public if the actor is a patient or resident at a health care facility and the victim is: 1) a health care worker employed by a licensed health care facility to provide direct patient care; 2) a health care professional licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to Title 26 or Title 45 of the Revised Statutes to practice a health care profession; or 3) a direct care worker at a State or county psychiatric hospital or State developmental center or veterans' memorial home. The bill requires this information to be omitted or redacted from the document. The bill also requires that any report, statement, court document, indictment, or complaint which states the name or address of a victim be kept confidential and unavailable to the public, unless authorized pursuant to a court order. Any person who purposefully discloses, releases, or otherwise makes available to the public, without authorization, any of these documents would be subject to a civil penalty of $100 for each document disclosed in violation of the bill. According to data from the U.S. Department of Labor, health care and social service workers experience the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely to suffer a workplace violence injury than workers overall. In 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor reported that healthcare workers accounted for 73 percent of the more than 18,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to violence.

Committee Categories

Shavonda Sumter (D)*,  Reginald Atkins (D),  Ellen Park (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Public Safety and Preparedness Committee (on 01/09/2024)

Official Document