IIB 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1309 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 21, 2019 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions 
AN ACT 
To direct the Secretary of Labor to issue an occupational 
safety and health standard that requires covered employ-
ers within the health care and social service industries 
to develop and implement a comprehensive workplace 
violence prevention plan, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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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 promulgate an interim final standard on 
workplace violence prevention— 
(A) to require certain employers in the 
health care and social service sectors, and cer-
tain employers in sectors that conduct activities 
similar to the activities in the health care and 
social service sectors, to develop and implement 
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a comprehensive workplace violence prevention 
plan to protect health care workers, social serv-
ice workers, and other personnel from work-
place violence; 
(B) that shall, at a minimum, be based on 
the Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Vio-
lence for Health care and Social Service Work-
ers published by the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration of the Department of 
Labor in 2015 and adhere to the requirements 
of this title; and 
(C) that provides for a period determined 
appropriate by the Secretary, not to exceed 1 
year, during which the Secretary shall prioritize 
technical assistance and advice consistent with 
section 21(d) of the Occupational Safety and 
Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 670(d)) to em-
ployers subject to the standard with respect to 
compliance with the standard. 
(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER STATUTORY RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The following shall not apply to the 
promulgation of the interim final standard under 
this subsection: 
(A) The requirements applicable to occupa-
tional safety and health standards under section 
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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, and titles 2 and 
42, United States Code. 
(3) NOTICE AND COMMENT.—Notwithstanding 
paragraph (2)(B), the Secretary shall, prior to pro-
mulgating the interim final standard under this sub-
section, provide notice in the Federal Register of the 
interim final standard and a 30-day period for pub-
lic comment. 
(4) EFFECTIVE
DATE
OF
INTERIM
STAND-
ARD.—The interim final standard shall— 
(A) take effect on a date that is not later 
than 30 days after promulgation, except that 
such interim final standard may include a rea-
sonable phase-in period for the implementation 
of required engineering controls that take effect 
after such date; 
(B) be enforced in the same manner and 
to the same extent as any standard promul-
gated under section 6(b) of the Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 
655(b)); and 
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(C) be in effect until the final standard de-
scribed in subsection (b) becomes effective and 
enforceable. 
(5) FAILURE TO PROMULGATE.—If an interim 
final standard described in paragraph (1) is not pro-
mulgated not later than 1 year of the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the provisions of this title shall be 
in effect and enforced in the same manner 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 su-
perseded in whole by an interim final standard pro-
mulgated by the Secretary that meets the require-
ments 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 Occupational Safety and Health Act (29 U.S.C. 
655), promulgate a proposed standard on workplace 
violence prevention— 
(A) for the purposes described in sub-
section (a)(1)(A); and 
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(B) that shall include, at a minimum, the 
elements contained in the interim 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 promulgate 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 section 18 of the Occupational Safety 
and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. 667); and 
(B) be effective and enforceable in the 
same manner and to the same extent 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 fa-
cility’’ includes the following: 
(i) Any hospital, including any spe-
cialty hospital, in-patient or outpatient set-
ting, or clinic operating within a hospital 
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license, or any setting that provides out-
patient services. 
(ii) Any residential treatment facility, 
including any nursing home, skilled nurs-
ing 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 correctional or 
detention facility. 
(v) Any community care setting, in-
cluding a community-based residential fa-
cility, group home, and mental health clin-
ic. 
(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 stand-
ards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, 
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Code of Federal Regulations (as such sec-
tion is in effect on the date of enactment 
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 facil-
ity’’ does not include an office of a physician, 
dentist, podiatrist, or any other health practi-
tioner 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 services and op-
erations: 
(i) Any services and operations pro-
vided in any field work setting, including 
home health care, home-based hospice, and 
home-based social work. 
(ii) Any emergency services and trans-
port, including such services provided by 
firefighters and emergency responders. 
(iii) Any services described in clauses 
(i) and (ii) performed by a Federal Gov-
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ernment agency and required to comply 
with occupational safety and health stand-
ards pursuant to section 1960 of title 29, 
Code of Federal Regulations (as such sec-
tion is in effect on the date of enactment 
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 serv-
ice’’ does not include child day care services. 
(3) COVERED EMPLOYER.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered em-
ployer’’ includes a person (including a con-
tractor, subcontractor, a temporary service 
firm, or an employee leasing entity) that em-
ploys an individual to work at a covered facility 
or to perform covered services. 
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘covered em-
ployer’’ does not include an individual who pri-
vately employs, in the individual’s residence, a 
person to perform covered services for the indi-
vidual or a family member of the individual. 
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(4) COVERED EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘covered 
employee’’ includes an individual employed by a cov-
ered employer to work at a covered facility or to per-
form covered 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, im-
plement, and maintain an effective written workplace 
violence prevention plan for covered employees at 
each covered facility and for covered employees per-
forming a covered service on behalf of such em-
ployer, which meets the following: 
(A) PLAN
DEVELOPMENT.—Each Plan 
shall— 
(i) be developed and implemented with 
the meaningful participation of direct care 
employees, other employees, and employee 
representatives, for all aspects of the Plan; 
(ii) be tailored and specific to condi-
tions and hazards for the covered facility 
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or the covered service, including patient- 
specific risk factors and risk factors spe-
cific to each work area or unit; and 
(iii) be suitable for the size, com-
plexity, and type of operations at the cov-
ered facility or for the covered service, and 
remain in effect at all times. 
(B) PLAN CONTENT.—Each Plan shall in-
clude procedures and methods for the following: 
(i) Identification of the individual 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 cov-
ered service, risk assessment and identi-
fication 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 inci-
dents specific to such covered facility 
or such covered service; and 
(II) conducted with, at a min-
imum— 
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(aa) direct care employees; 
(bb) where applicable, the 
representatives of such employ-
ees; and 
(cc) the employer. 
(iii) Hazard prevention, engineering 
controls, or work practice controls to cor-
rect hazards, in a timely manner, applying 
industrial hygiene principles of the hier-
archy of controls, which— 
(I) may include security and 
alarm systems, adequate exit routes, 
monitoring systems, barrier protec-
tion, established areas for patients 
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, hazards 
identified in any violent incident in-
vestigation described in paragraph (2) 
and any annual report described in 
paragraph (5). 
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