I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8669 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue nonmandatory guidance on reducing 

the threat of violence in the workplace, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2024 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Mr. SMITH of Washington) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue nonmandatory 

guidance on reducing the threat of violence in the workplace, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Workplaces Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. OSHA GUIDANCE ON REDUCING THE THREAT OF VI6 OLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Institute 

8 for Occupational Safety and Health shall conduct a study 

9 on reducing the threat of violence in the workplace. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 8669 IH

1 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall sub3 mit to the Secretary of Labor, the Committee on Edu4 cation and Labor of the House of Representatives, and 

5 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen6 sions of the Senate a report on the results of the study 

7 conducted under subsection (a), which shall include rec8 ommendations that the Secretary of Labor shall consider 

9 when issuing the guidance described in subsection (c). 

10 (c) GUIDANCE.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

13 Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and 

14 Health Administration, shall issue nonmandatory 

15 guidance on activities and work practice controls 

16 that can be implemented by workplaces to reduce 

17 workplace violence. Such guidance shall be differen18 tiated to the extent necessary to account for the 

19 unique characteristics of, and the potential for 

20 threats of violence at, of each variety of workplace, 

21 including grocery stores, retail stores, movie thea22 tres, hospitals, office buildings, restaurants and 

23 bars, religious facilities, manufacturing facilities, 

24 mail distribution centers, community centers, child 

25 care centers, and schools. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 8669 IH

1 (2) CONSIDERATION.—In issuing the guidance 

2 required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 

3 (A) consider the recommendations included 

4 in the report required under subsection (b); and 

5 (B) take into account engineering controls, 

6 dangerous weapons, and environmental risk fac7 tors that may impact a workplace. 

8 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

9 (1) DANGEROUS WEAPON.—The term ‘‘dan10 gerous weapon’’ means an instrument capable of in11 flicting death or serious bodily injury, without re12 gard to whether such instrument was designed for 

13 that purpose. 

14 (2) ENGINEERING CONTROLS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘engineering 

16 controls’’ means an aspect of the built space or 

17 a device that removes a hazard from the work18 place or creates a barrier between an employee 

19 and the hazard. 

20 (B) INCLUSIONS.—For purposes of reduc21 ing workplace violence hazards, the term ‘‘engi22 neering controls’’ includes electronic access con23 trols to employee occupied areas, weapon detec24 tors (installed or handheld), enclosed work25 stations with shatter-resistant glass, deep servVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:23 Jul 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8669.IH H8669

ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 8669 IH

1 ice counters, locks on doors, removing access to 

2 or securing items that could be used as weap3 ons, furniture affixed to the floor, opaque glass, 

4 closed-circuit television monitoring and video re5 cording, sight-aids, and personal alarm devices. 

6 (3) ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘environ8 mental risk factors’’ means factors in the facil9 ity or area in which a service is performed that 

10 may contribute to the likelihood or severity of 

11 a workplace violence incident. 

12 (B) CLARIFICATION.—Environmental risk 

13 factors may be associated with the specific task 

14 being performed or the work area, such as 

15 working in an isolated area, poor illumination 

16 or blocked visibility, and lack of physical bar17 riers between individuals and persons at risk of 

18 committing workplace violence. 

19 (4) THREAT OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘threat 

20 of violence’’ means a statement or conduct that— 

21 (A) causes an individual to fear for such 

22 individual’s safety because there is a reasonable 

23 possibility the individual might be physically in24 jured; and 

25 (B) serves no legitimate purpose. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 8669 IH

1 (5) WORK PRACTICE CONTROLS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘work prac3 tice controls’’ means procedures and rules that 

4 are used to effectively reduce workplace violence 

5 hazards. 

6 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘work prac7 tice controls’’ includes— 

8 (i) assigning and placing sufficient 

9 numbers of staff to reduce workplace vio10 lence directed at employees by customers, 

11 clients, patients, students, inmates, or any 

12 individual for whom the workplace provides 

13 services or for whom the employee per14 forms services. 

15 (ii) provision of dedicated and avail16 able safety personnel such as security 

17 guards; 

18 (iii) employee training on workplace 

19 violence prevention methods and tech20 niques to de-escalate and minimize violent 

21 behavior; and 

22 (iv) employee training on procedures 

23 for response in the event of a workplace vi24 olence incident and for post-incident re25 sponse. 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 8669 IH

1 (6) WORKPLACE VIOLENCE.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘workplace 

3 violence’’ means any act of violence or threat of 

4 violence, without regard to intent, that occurs 

5 at a workplace or while an employee performs 

6 a service. 

7 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘workplace 

8 violence’’ does not include lawful acts of self-de9 fense or lawful acts of defense of others. 

10 (C) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘workplace 

11 violence’’ includes— 

12 (i) the threat or use of physical force 

13 against a employee that results in or has 

14 a high likelihood of resulting in injury, 

15 psychological trauma, or stress, without re16 gard to whether the employee sustains an 

17 injury, psychological trauma, or stress; and 

18 (ii) an incident involving the threat or 

19 use of a firearm or a dangerous weapon, 

20 including the use of common objects as 

21 weapons, without regard to whether the 

22 employee sustains an injury, psychological 

23 trauma, or stress. 

Æ 


ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS