Healthcare Workplace Violence Legislation Will Impact Home Care Providers
The Situation Report | April 21, 2025
The “Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act” was reintroduced in Congress on April 1. If passed, this bill would have major implications for providers across the care continuum, including home care, home health, and hospice organizations.
The bill applies broadly to employers in health care and social services, such as home health agencies, home care providers, hospice agencies and social service organizations.
If enacted, the law would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue a national standard requiring covered employers to
- Develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan, tailored to the risks in each specific setting
- Involve frontline workers in developing the plan, including risk assessment and mitigation strategies
- Provide annual training on identifying, reporting, and responding to incidents of workplace violence
- Maintain a workplace violence incident log and make it available upon request
- Prohibit retaliation against employees who report violent incidents.
For home care, home health, and hospice agencies, this legislation would require:
- Formal workplace violence prevention programs, even for small, non-medical home care agencies.
- Site-specific risk assessments for client homes.
- Protocols for de-escalation, withdrawal from unsafe environments, and incident follow-up.
- Training for all field staff and office personnel.
HCANYS continues to carefully monitor this bill and will inform you of new developments. For any questions, please contact Celisia Street, vice president of workforce development and innovation.