Bill > H4418

This bill requires health care employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence. The key provisions include: 1. The Department of Public Health must develop statewide standards for evaluating and addressing known security risks within different healthcare settings, such as hospitals. Healthcare facilities must then provide a summary of their operational policy that complies with these standards. 2. Healthcare employers must develop and implement a program to minimize the danger of workplace violence to employees, including appropriate employee training and a system for reporting and monitoring incidents. 3. Healthcare employers must designate a senior manager responsible for developing and supporting an in-house crisis response team for employee-victims of workplace violence. 4. The bill also enhances criminal penalties for assaults on healthcare workers and provides new protections for these workers, including the option to use a labor organization's address or request their home address to be impounded. 5. The bill requires healthcare employers to report incidents of assault and assault and battery to the Department of Public Health and the District Attorney, and the Department must publish an annual public report using this data. 6. The bill allows healthcare workers who are victims of assault or assault and battery in the line of duty to take unpaid leave to seek services, obtain protective orders, or participate in legal proceedings.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/H4418