BILL NUMBER: SB 1299 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 25, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Senator Padilla
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to add Section 6401.8 to the Labor Code, relating to
occupational safety and health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1299, as amended, Padilla. Workplace violence prevention plans.
Existing law regulates the operation of health facilities,
including hospitals.
The California Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 imposes
safety responsibilities on employers and employees, including the
requirement that an employer establish, implement, and maintain an
effective injury prevention program, and makes specified violations
of these provisions a crime.
This bill would require the Occupational Safety and Health
Standards Board, no later than July 1, 2015, to adopt standards
developed by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health that
require specified types of hospitals, including a general acute care
hospital or an acute psychiatric hospital, to adopt a workplace
violence prevention plan as a part of the hospital's injury and
illness prevention plan to protect health care workers and other
facility personnel from aggressive and violent behavior. The bill
would require the standards to include prescribed requirements for a
plan. The bill would require the division, by January 1, 2017, and
annually thereafter, to post a report on its Internet Web site
containing specified information regarding violent incidents at
hospitals. The bill would exempt certain state-operated
hospitals from these provisions.
Because this bill would expand the scope of a crime, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 6401.8 is added to the Labor Code, to read:
6401.8. (a) The standards board, no later than July 1, 2015,
shall adopt standards developed by the division that require a
hospital licensed pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (f) of Section
1250 of the Health and Safety Code Code,
except as exempted by subdivision (d), to adopt a workplace
violence prevention plan as a part of its injury and illness
prevention plan to protect health care workers and other facility
personnel from aggressive and violent behavior.
(b) The standards adopted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall
include all of the following:
(1) A requirement that the workplace violence prevention plan be
in effect at all times in all patient care units, including inpatient
and outpatient settings and clinics on the hospital's license.
(2) A definition of workplace violence that includes, but is not
limited to, both of the following:
(A) The use of physical force against a hospital employee by a
patient or a person accompanying a patient that results in, or has a
high likelihood of resulting in, injury, psychological trauma, or
stress, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.
(B) An incident involving the use of a firearm or other dangerous
weapon, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.
(3) A requirement that a workplace violence prevention plan
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Personnel education and training policies that require all
health care workers who provide direct care to patients to, at least
annually, receive education and training that is designed to provide
an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with a person
knowledgeable about the workplace violence prevention plan. The
education and training shall cover topics that include, but are not
limited to, the following:
(i) How to recognize potential for violence, and when and how to
seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence.
(ii) How to report violent incidents to law enforcement.
(iii) Any resources available to employees for coping with
incidents of violence, including, but not limited to, critical
incident stress debriefing or employee assistance programs.
(B) A system for responding to, and investigating violent
incidents and situations involving violence or the risk of violence.
(C) A system to, at least annually, assess and improve upon
factors that may contribute to, or help prevent workplace violence,
including, but not limited to, the following:
following factors:
(i) Staffing, including staffing patterns and patient
classification systems that contribute to, or are insufficient to
address, the risk of violence.
(ii) Sufficiency of security systems, including security personnel
availability.
(iii) Job design, equipment, and facilities.
(iv) Security risks associated with specific units, areas of the
facility with uncontrolled access, late-night or early morning
shifts, and employee security in areas surrounding the facility such
as employee parking areas.
(4) A requirement that all workplace violence prevention plans be
developed in conjunction with affected employees, including their
recognized collective bargaining agents, if any.
(5) A requirement that all temporary personnel to
be oriented to the workplace violence prevention plan.
(6) Provisions prohibiting hospitals from disallowing an employee
from, or taking punitive or retaliatory action against an employee
for, seeking assistance and intervention from local emergency
services or law enforcement when a violent incident occurs.
(7) A requirement that hospitals document, and retain for a period
of five years, a written record of any violent incident against a
hospital employee, regardless of whether the employee sustains an
injury, and regardless of whether the report is made by the employee
who is the subject of the violent incident or any other employee.
(8) A requirement that a hospital report violent incidents to the
division. If the incident results in injury, involves the use of a
firearm or other dangerous weapon, or presents an urgent or emergent
threat to the welfare, health, or safety of hospital personnel, the
hospital shall report the incident to the division within 24 hours.
All other incidents of violence shall be reported to the division
within 72 hours.
(c) By January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the division, in
a manner that protects patient and employee confidentiality, shall
post a report on its Internet Web site containing information
regarding violent incidents at hospitals, that includes, but is not
limited to, the total number of reports, and which specific hospitals
filed reports, pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (b), the
outcome of any related inspection or investigation, the citations
levied against a hospital based on a violent incident, and
recommendations of the division on the prevention of violent
incidents at hospitals.
(d) This section shall not apply to a hospital operated by the
State Department of State Hospitals, the State Department of
Developmental Services, or the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.