Legislation Grid Based on the health-related bill (proposed, not enacted) you selected, complete the Legislation Grid Template. Be sure to address the following: ? Determine the legislative

19–006

117TH CONGRESS REPT. 117–14 " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session Part 1

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION FOR HEALTH CARE AND SOCIAL SERVICE WORKERS ACT

APRIL 5, 2021.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, from the Committee on Education and Labor, submitted the following

R E P O R T

together with

MINORITY VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 1195]

The Committee on Education and Labor, to whom was referred the bill (H.R. 1195) to direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an oc- cupational safety and health standard that requires covered em- ployers within the health care and social service industries to de- velop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence preven- tion plan, and for other purposes, having considered the same, re- ports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

CONTENTS

Page Purpose and Summary ……………………………………………………………………………….. 10 Committee Action ………………………………………………………………………………………. 10 Committee Views ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 14 Appendix A ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 33 Section-by-Section Analysis ………………………………………………………………………… 41 Explanation of Amendments ……………………………………………………………………….. 44 Application of Law to the Legislative Branch ………………………………………………. 44 Unfunded Mandate Statement ……………………………………………………………………. 44 Earmark Statement ……………………………………………………………………………………. 44 Roll Call Votes …………………………………………………………………………………………… 44 Statement of Performance Goals and Objectives ………………………………………….. 47 Duplication of Federal Programs …………………………………………………………………. 47 Hearings ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 47 Statement of Oversight Findings and Recommendations of the Committee …… 47 New Budget Authority and CBO Cost Estimate …………………………………………… 47 Committee Cost Estimate …………………………………………………………………………… 47

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6646 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

2

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported ………………………………. 48 Committee Correspondence ………………………………………………………………………… 67 Minority Views …………………………………………………………………………………………… 71

The amendment is as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act’’. SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 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 PREVENTION STANDARD

SEC. 101. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION STANDARD.

(a) INTERIM FINAL STANDARD.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this

Act, the Secretary of Labor shall issue an interim final standard on workplace violence prevention—

(A) to require certain employers in the health care and social service sec- tors, and certain employers in sectors that conduct activities similar to the activities in the health care and social service sectors, to develop and imple- ment a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan and carry out other activities or requirements described in section 103 to protect health care workers, social service workers, and other personnel from workplace violence; and

(B) that shall, at a minimum, be based on the Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Department of Labor in 2015 and adhere to the requirements of this title.

(2) INAPPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF LAW AND EXECUTIVE ORDER.—The following provisions of law and Executive orders shall not apply to the issuance of the interim final standard under this subsection:

(A) The requirements applicable to occupational safety and health stand- ards under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)).

(B) The requirements of chapters 5 and 6 of title 5, United States Code. (C) Subchapter I of chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly

referred to as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). (D) Executive Order 12866 (58 Fed. Reg. 51735; relating to regulatory

planning and review), as amended. (3) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary

shall, prior to issuing the interim final standard under this subsection, provide notice in the Federal Register of the interim final standard and a 30-day period for public comment.

(4) EFFECTIVE DATE OF INTERIM STANDARD.—The interim final standard shall—

(A) take effect on a date that is not later than 30 days after issuance, except that such interim final standard may include a reasonable phase-in period for the implementation of required engineering controls that take ef- fect after such date;

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

3

(B) be enforced in the same manner and to the same extent as any stand- ard promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)); and

(C) be in effect until the final standard described in subsection (b) be- comes effective and enforceable.

(5) FAILURE TO PROMULGATE.—If an interim final standard described in para- graph (1) is not issued not later than 1 year of the date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of this title shall be in effect and enforced in the same man- ner and to the same extent as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655(b)) until such provisions are superseded in whole by an interim final standard issued by the Secretary that meets the requirements of paragraph (1).

(b) FINAL STANDARD.— (1) PROPOSED STANDARD.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment

of this Act, the Secretary of Labor shall, pursuant to section 6 of the Occupa- tional Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655), promulgate a proposed standard on workplace violence prevention—

(A) for the purposes described in subsection (a)(1)(A); and (B) that shall include, at a minimum, requirements contained in the in-

terim final standard promulgated under subsection (a). (2) FINAL STANDARD.—Not later than 42 months after the date of enactment

of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a final standard on such proposed standard that shall—

(A) provide no less protection than any workplace violence standard adopted by a State plan that has been approved by the Secretary under sec- tion 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667), provided the Secretary finds that the final standard is feasible on the basis of the best available evidence; and

(B) be effective and enforceable in the same manner and to the same ex- tent as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 655(b)).

SEC. 102. SCOPE AND APPLICATION.

In this title: (1) COVERED FACILITY.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered facility’’ includes the following: (i) Any hospital, including any specialty hospital, in-patient or out-

patient setting, or clinic operating within a hospital license, or any set- ting that provides outpatient services.

(ii) Any residential treatment facility, including any nursing home, skilled nursing facility, hospice facility, and long-term care facility.

(iii) Any non-residential treatment or service setting. (iv) Any medical treatment or social service setting or clinic at a cor-

rectional or detention facility. (v) Any community care setting, including a community-based resi-

dential facility, group home, and mental health clinic. (vi) Any psychiatric treatment facility. (vii) Any drug abuse or substance use disorder treatment center. (viii) Any independent freestanding emergency centers. (ix) Any facility described in clauses (i) through (viii) operated by a

Federal Government agency and required to comply with occupational safety and health standards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in effect on the date of enact- ment of this Act).

(x) Any other facility the Secretary determines should be covered under the standards promulgated under section 101.

(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered facility’’ does not include an office of a physician, dentist, podiatrist, or any other health practitioner that is not physically located within a covered facility described in clauses (i) through (x) of subparagraph (A).

(2) COVERED SERVICES.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered service’’ includes the following serv-

ices and operations: (i) Any services and operations provided in any field work setting, in-

cluding home health care, home-based hospice, and home-based social work.

(ii) Any emergency services and transport, including such services provided by firefighters and emergency responders.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

4

(iii) Any services described in clauses (i) and (ii) performed by a Fed- eral Government agency and required to comply with occupational safe- ty and health standards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in effect on the date of enact- ment of this Act).

(iv) Any other services and operations the Secretary determines should be covered under the standards promulgated under section 101.

(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered service’’ does not include child day care services.

(3) COVERED EMPLOYER.— (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered employer’’ includes a person (includ-

ing a contractor, subcontractor, a temporary service firm, or an employee leasing entity) that employs an individual to work at a covered facility or to perform covered services.

(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered employer’’ does not include an indi- vidual who privately employs, in the individual’s residence, a person to per- form covered services for the individual or a family member of the indi- vidual.

(4) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered employee’’ includes an individual employed by a covered employer to work at a covered facility or to perform cov- ered services.

SEC. 103. REQUIREMENTS FOR WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION STANDARD.

Each standard described in section 101 shall include, at a minimum, the following requirements:

(1) WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the date of promulgation of the interim final standard under section 101(a), a covered employer shall develop, implement, and maintain an effective written workplace violence prevention plan (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Plan’’) for covered employees at each covered facility and for covered employees per- forming a covered service on behalf of such employer, which meets the fol- lowing:

(A) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—Each Plan shall— (i) be developed and implemented with the meaningful participation

of direct care employees, other employees, and employee representa- tives, for all aspects of the Plan;

(ii) be tailored and specific to conditions and hazards for the covered facility or the covered service, including patient-specific risk factors and risk factors specific to each work area or unit; and

(iii) be suitable for the size, complexity, and type of operations at the covered facility or for the covered service, and remain in effect at all times.

(B) PLAN CONTENT.—Each Plan shall include procedures and methods for the following:

(i) Identification of the individual and the individual’s position re- sponsible for implementation of the Plan.

(ii) With respect to each work area and unit at the covered facility or while covered employees are performing the covered service, risk as- sessment and identification of workplace violence risks and hazards to employees exposed to such risks and hazards (including environmental risk factors and patient-specific risk factors), which shall be—

(I) informed by past violent incidents specific to such covered fa- cility or such covered service; and

(II) conducted with, at a minimum— (aa) direct care employees; (bb) where applicable, the representatives of such employees;

and (cc) the employer.

(iii) Hazard prevention, engineering controls, or work practice con- trols to correct hazards, in a timely manner, applying industrial hy- giene principles of the hierarchy of controls, which—

(I) may include security and alarm systems, adequate exit routes, monitoring systems, barrier protection, established areas for pa- tients and clients, lighting, entry procedures, staffing and working in teams, and systems to identify and flag clients with a history of violence; and

(II) shall ensure that employers correct, in a timely manner, haz- ards identified in any violent incident investigation described in paragraph (2) and any annual report described in paragraph (5).

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

5

(iv) Reporting, incident response, and post-incident investigation pro- cedures, including procedures—

(I) for employees to report workplace violence risks, hazards, and incidents;

(II) for employers to respond to reports of workplace violence; (III) for employers to perform a post-incident investigation and

debriefing of all reports of workplace violence with the participa- tion of employees and their representatives;

(IV) to provide medical care or first aid to affected employees; and

(V) to provide employees with information about available trau- ma and related counseling.

(v) Procedures for emergency response, including procedures for threats of mass casualties and procedures for incidents involving a fire- arm or a dangerous weapon.

(vi) Procedures for communicating with and training the covered em- ployees on workplace violence hazards, threats, and work practice con- trols, the employer’s plan, and procedures for confronting, responding to, and reporting workplace violence threats, incidents, and concerns, and employee rights.

(vii) Procedures for— (I) ensuring the coordination of risk assessment efforts, Plan de-

velopment, and implementation of the Plan with other employers who have employees who work at the covered facility or who are performing the covered service; and

(II) determining which covered employer or covered employers shall be responsible for implementing and complying with the pro- visions of the standard applicable to the working conditions over which such employers have control.

(viii) Procedures for conducting the annual evaluation under para- graph (6).

(C) AVAILABILITY OF PLAN.—Each Plan shall be made available at all times to the covered employees who are covered under such Plan.

(2) VIOLENT INCIDENT INVESTIGATION.— (A) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after a workplace violence inci-

dent, risk, or hazard of which a covered employer has knowledge, the em- ployer shall conduct an investigation of such incident, risk, or hazard under which the employer shall—

(i) review the circumstances of the incident, risk, or hazard, and whether any controls or measures implemented pursuant to the Plan of the employer were effective; and

(ii) solicit input from involved employees, their representatives, and supervisors about the cause of the incident, risk, or hazard, and wheth- er further corrective measures (including system-level factors) could have prevented the incident, risk, or hazard.

(B) DOCUMENTATION.—A covered employer shall document the findings, recommendations, and corrective measures taken for each investigation con- ducted under this paragraph.

(3) TRAINING AND EDUCATION.—With respect to the covered employees covered under a Plan of a covered employer, the employer shall provide training and education to such employees who may be exposed to workplace violence hazards and risks, which meet the following requirements:

(A) Annual training and education shall include information on the Plan, including identified workplace violence hazards, work practice control meas- ures, reporting procedures, record keeping requirements, response proce- dures, anti-retaliation policies, and employee rights.

(B) Additional hazard recognition training shall be provided for super- visors and managers to ensure they—

(i) can recognize high-risk situations; and (ii) do not assign employees to situations that predictably compromise

the safety of such employees. (C) Additional training shall be provided for each such covered employee

whose job circumstances have changed, within a reasonable timeframe after such change.

(D) Applicable training shall be provided under this paragraph for each new covered employee prior to the employee’s job assignment.

(E) All training shall provide such employees opportunities to ask ques- tions, give feedback on training, and request additional instruction, clari- fication, or other followup.

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

6

(F) All training shall be provided in-person and by an individual with knowledge of workplace violence prevention and of the Plan, except that any annual training described in subparagraph (A) provided to an employee after the first year such training is provided to such employee may be con- ducted by live video if in-person training is impracticable.

(G) All training shall be appropriate in content and vocabulary to the lan- guage, educational level, and literacy of such covered employees.

(4) RECORDKEEPING AND ACCESS TO PLAN RECORDS.— (A) IN GENERAL.—Each covered employer shall—

(i) maintain for not less than 5 years— (I) records related to each Plan of the employer, including work-

place violence risk and hazard assessments, and identification, evaluation, correction, and training procedures;

(II) a violent incident log described in subparagraph (B) for re- cording all workplace violence incidents; and

(III) records of all incident investigations as required under para- graph (2)(B); and

(ii)(I) make such records and logs available, upon request, to covered employees and their representatives for examination and copying in ac- cordance with section 1910.1020 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), and in a manner consistent with HIPAA privacy regulations (defined in sec- tion 1180(b)(3) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320d–9(b)(3))) and part 2 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations (as such part is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act); and

(II) ensure that any such records and logs that may be copied, trans- mitted electronically, or otherwise removed from the employer’s control for purposes of this clause omit any element of personal identifying in- formation sufficient to allow identification of any patient, resident, cli- ent, or other individual alleged to have committed a violent incident (including the individual’s name, address, electronic mail address, tele- phone number, or social security number, or other information that, alone or in combination with other publicly available information, re- veals such individual’s identity).

(B) VIOLENT INCIDENT LOG DESCRIPTION.—Each violent incident log shall—

(i) be maintained by a covered employer for each covered facility con- trolled by the employer and for each covered service being performed by a covered employee on behalf of such employer;

(ii) be based on a template developed by the Secretary not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act;

(iii) include, at a minimum, a description of— (I) the violent incident (including environmental risk factors

present at the time of the incident); (II) the date, time, and location of the incident, and the names

and job titles of involved employees; (III) the nature and extent of injuries to covered employees; (IV) a classification of the perpetrator who committed the vio-

lence, including whether the perpetrator was— (aa) a patient, client, resident, or customer of a covered em-

ployer; (bb) a family or friend of a patient, client, resident, or cus-

tomer of a covered employer; (cc) a stranger; (dd) a coworker, supervisor, or manager of a covered em-

ployee; (ee) a partner, spouse, parent, or relative of a covered em-

ployee; or (ff) any other appropriate classification;

(V) the type of violent incident (such as type 1 violence, type 2 violence, type 3 violence, or type 4 violence); and

(VI) how the incident was abated; (iv) not later than 7 days after the employer learns of such incident,

contain a record of each violent incident, which is updated to ensure completeness of such record;

(v) be maintained for not less than 5 years; and (vi) in the case of a violent incident involving a privacy concern case,

protect the identity of employees in a manner consistent with section

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

7

1904.29(b) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).

(C) ANNUAL SUMMARY.— (i) COVERED EMPLOYERS.—Each covered employer shall prepare and

submit to the Secretary an annual summary of each violent incident log for the preceding calendar year that shall—

(I) with respect to each covered facility, and each covered service, for which such a log has been maintained, include—

(aa) the total number of violent incidents; (bb) the number of recordable injuries related to such inci-

dents; and (cc) the total number of hours worked by the covered employ-

ees for such preceding year; (II) be completed on a form provided by the Secretary; (III) be posted for 3 months beginning February 1 of each year

in a manner consistent with the requirements of section 1904 of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations (as such section is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), relating to the posting of summaries of injury and illness logs;

(IV) be located in a conspicuous place or places where notices to employees are customarily posted; and

(V) not be altered, defaced, or covered by other material. (ii) SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 year after the promulgation of the

interim final standard under section 101(a), the Secretary shall make available a platform for the electronic submission of annual summaries required under this subparagraph.

(5) ANNUAL REPORT.— (A) REPORT TO SECRETARY.—Not later than February 15 of each year,

each covered employer shall report to the Secretary, on a form provided by the Secretary, the frequency, quantity, and severity of workplace violence, and any incident response and post-incident investigation (including abate- ment measures) for the incidents set forth in the annual summary of the violent incident log described in paragraph (4)(C). The contents of the re- port of the Secretary to Congress shall not disclose any confidential infor- mation.

(B) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 6 months after February 15 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a summary of the reports received under subparagraph (A).

(6) ANNUAL EVALUATION.—Each covered employer shall conduct an annual written evaluation, conducted with the full, active participation of covered em- ployees and employee representatives, of—

(A) the implementation and effectiveness of the Plan, including a review of the violent incident log; and

(B) compliance with training required by each standard described in sec- tion 101, and specified in the Plan.

(7) PLAN UPDATES.—Each covered employer shall incorporate changes to the Plan, in a manner consistent with paragraph (1)(A)(i) and based on findings from the most recent annual evaluation conducted under paragraph (6), as ap- propriate.

(8) ANTI-RETALIATION.— (A) POLICY.—Each covered employer shall adopt a policy prohibiting any

person (including an agent of the employer) from the discrimination or re- taliation described in subparagraph (B).

(B) PROHIBITION.—No covered employer shall discriminate or retaliate against any employee for—

(i) reporting a workplace violence incident, threat, or concern to, or seeking assistance or intervention with respect to such incident, threat, or concern from, the employer, law enforcement, local emergency serv- ices, or a local, State, or Federal government agency; or

(ii) exercising any other rights under this paragraph. (C) ENFORCEMENT.—This paragraph shall be enforced in the same man-

ner and to the same extent as any standard promulgated under section 6(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 655(b)).

SEC. 104. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

Notwithstanding section 18 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667)—

(1) nothing in this title shall be construed to curtail or limit authority of the Secretary under any other provision of the law;

VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Apr 12, 2021 Jkt 019006 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6621 E:HROCHR014P1.XXX HR014P1

8

(2) the rights, privileges, or remedies of covered employees shall be in addi- tion to the rights, privileges, or remedies provided under any Federal or State law, or any collective bargaining agreement; and

(3) nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit or prevent health care work- ers, social service workers, and other personnel from reporting violent incidents to appropriate law enforcement.

SEC. 105. OTHER DEFINITIONS.

In this title: (1) WORKPLACE VIOLENCE.—

(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘workplace violence’’ means any act of vio- lence or threat of violence, without regard to intent, that occurs at a cov- ered facility or while a covered employee performs a covered service.

(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘workplace violence’’ does not include lawful acts of self-defense or lawful acts

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.