The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health has proposed new regulations that aim to prevent workplace violence in the healthcare industry.

According to Cal-OSHA, workplace violence-related injuries occur three times more in the health and social assistance sectors than in the overall private sector. 

The proposed regulations would implement a state bill (SB 1299) passed last year. They would cover workplace safety for workers in home health, home-based hospice, outpatient medical offices, paramedic and emergency medical services, and other health facilities. Under the regulations, employers would be required to implement:

• Ways to identify risk factors;
• Investigation and response procedures; 
• Procedures for correcting violence hazards.

Employees also would have to be involved in the development, implementation and review of the workplace violence prevention plans. In addition, employers must provide violence-prevention training for all employees.