The American Nurses Association announced plans to push its workplace violence legislation again in January, Nursing.org reported.
The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to set a workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare and social service employers. Unlike legislation that focuses on penalties after an assault, an OSHA standard would require preventive measures. It was passed by the House in 2019 and 2021, but has not cleared the Senate.
ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said workplace violence prevention is the association’s next legislative priority and is urging nurses to rally for it as they did when the Department of Education moved to exclude nursing from its definition of professional degrees.
