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 Geor-
gia, 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 work-
place, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Safe Workplaces Act’’. 
SEC. 2. OSHA GUIDANCE ON REDUCING THE THREAT OF VI-
OLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE. 
(a) STUDY.—The Director of the National Institute 
for Occupational Safety and Health shall conduct a study 
on reducing the threat of violence in the workplace. 
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(b) REPORT.—Not later than 15 months after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Director shall sub-
mit to the Secretary of Labor, the Committee on Edu-
cation and Labor of the House of Representatives, and 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen-
sions of the Senate a report on the results of the study 
conducted under subsection (a), which shall include rec-
ommendations that the Secretary of Labor shall consider 
when issuing the guidance described in subsection (c). 
(c) GUIDANCE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 4 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Labor, acting through the Occupational Safety and 
Health Administration, shall issue nonmandatory 
guidance on activities and work practice controls 
that can be implemented by workplaces to reduce 
workplace violence. Such guidance shall be differen-
tiated to the extent necessary to account for the 
unique characteristics of, and the potential for 
threats of violence at, of each variety of workplace, 
including grocery stores, retail stores, movie thea-
tres, hospitals, office buildings, restaurants and 
bars, religious facilities, manufacturing facilities, 
mail distribution centers, community centers, child 
care centers, and schools. 
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(2) CONSIDERATION.—In issuing the guidance 
required under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— 
(A) consider the recommendations included 
in the report required under subsection (b); and 
(B) take into account engineering controls, 
dangerous weapons, and environmental risk fac-
tors that may impact a workplace. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) DANGEROUS
WEAPON.—The term ‘‘dan-
gerous weapon’’ means an instrument capable of in-
flicting death or serious bodily injury, without re-
gard to whether such instrument was designed for 
that purpose. 
(2) ENGINEERING CONTROLS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘engineering 
controls’’ means an aspect of the built space or 
a device that removes a hazard from the work-
place or creates a barrier between an employee 
and the hazard. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—For purposes of reduc-
ing workplace violence hazards, the term ‘‘engi-
neering controls’’ includes electronic access con-
trols to employee occupied areas, weapon detec-
tors (installed or handheld), enclosed work-
stations with shatter-resistant glass, deep serv-
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ice counters, locks on doors, removing access to 
or securing items that could be used as weap-
ons, furniture affixed to the floor, opaque glass, 
closed-circuit television monitoring and video re-
cording, sight-aids, and personal alarm devices. 
(3) ENVIRONMENTAL RISK FACTORS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘environ-
mental risk factors’’ means factors in the facil-
ity or area in which a service is performed that 
may contribute to the likelihood or severity of 
a workplace violence incident. 
(B) CLARIFICATION.—Environmental risk 
factors may be associated with the specific task 
being performed or the work area, such as 
working in an isolated area, poor illumination 
or blocked visibility, and lack of physical bar-
riers between individuals and persons at risk of 
committing workplace violence. 
(4) THREAT OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘threat 
of violence’’ means a statement or conduct that— 
(A) causes an individual to fear for such 
individual’s safety because there is a reasonable 
possibility the individual might be physically in-
jured; and 
(B) serves no legitimate purpose. 
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(5) WORK PRACTICE CONTROLS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘work prac-
tice controls’’ means procedures and rules that 
are used to effectively reduce workplace violence 
hazards. 
(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘work prac-
tice controls’’ includes— 
(i) assigning and placing sufficient 
numbers of staff to reduce workplace vio-
lence directed at employees by customers, 
clients, patients, students, inmates, or any 
individual for whom the workplace provides 
services or for whom the employee per-
forms services. 
(ii) provision of dedicated and avail-
able safety personnel such as security 
guards; 
(iii) employee training on workplace 
violence prevention methods and tech-
niques to de-escalate and minimize violent 
behavior; and 
(iv) employee training on procedures 
for response in the event of a workplace vi-
olence incident and for post-incident re-
sponse. 
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