The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is cracking down on workplace violence in healthcare and social service settings. This means they are making sure employers are keeping their workers safe from violence on the job. OSHA has a rule called the General Duty Clause, which says that employers must provide a safe workplace for their employees. If they don’t, OSHA can punish them for breaking the rule. This is important for workers in healthcare and social service jobs, where they are more likely to be hurt by violence. In order for OSHA to prove a violation of the general duty clause, they need to show that there was something in the workplace that was dangerous to employees, that the employer knew about the danger, that the danger could cause serious harm, and that there was a way to fix the danger. If OSHA proves a violation, the employer can be fined up to $70,000 for each willful violation of the general duty clause. OSHA’s guidelines for preventing workplace violence (WPV) are broad and can apply to many industries, but they are particularly focused on healthcare and social service settings. The guidelines call for employers to develop a written WPV prevention program as part of their overall health and safety program. This includes managementâs recognition of workplace violence as a safety and health hazard, and implementing measures such as employee participation, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, safety and health training, and recordkeeping and program evaluation. The goal is to reduce or eliminate WPV hazards and protect workers from physical and emotional harm, as well as prevent financial costs for employers. OSHA, a government agency that enforces workplace safety, is focusing on investigating workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare settings. They see WPV as a major hazard and will be inspecting healthcare facilities for it, along with other risks like musculoskeletal disorders and blood borne pathogens. So, if there’s a complaint, accident, or death related to workplace violence, OSHA might come in to investigate. Healthcare and social service workplaces are especially at risk for WPV. OSHA investigated a hospital in Brooklyn and found that it didn’t protect its employees from violence by patients and visitors. OSHA fined the hospital and made them improve their violence prevention program. In Florida, a healthcare company didn’t protect an employee who was killed by a client. OSHA fined the company, and now it’s being decided if the rules about workplace safety apply to this situation. OSHA’s decision will give important guidance on how to protect healthcare workers from violence. OSHA is focusing on preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings and has a new website with tools and examples to help. Penalties for OSHA violations are expected to increase by a lot in the near future. This is because of a new law that requires OSHA to increase penalties based on inflation. OSHA may make the penalties even higher than required because they believe the current penalties are too low. In high-risk industries, employers could face big penalties from OSHA if they don’t protect workers from workplace violence. It’s important for them to follow OSHA guidelines and have a good prevention program in place. Otherwise, they could get in trouble if an employee is hurt in a violent incident at work. OSHA, the government agency that sets safety rules for workplaces, has different ways to keep healthcare workers safe from violence. They include things like changing the way work is done (administrative controls) and making physical changes to the workplace (engineering controls). If an incident happens where three or more employees are hurt, it’s considered a “catastrophic event” and OSHA will investigate. OSHA recently made changes at a hospital to better protect employees from violence. If a company doesn’t follow OSHA’s rules, they can be taken to court and fined. OSHA cited Integra Health Management for workplace violence hazards that led to an employee’s death. The company appealed the decision, but OSHA issued tools to prevent workplace violence in healthcare settings. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 also raised OSHA’s civil penalties for the first time since 1990.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/healthcare-and-social-service-settings-in-oshas-crosshairs/
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