Congressman Al Green Passes Amendment to Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, Requiring the Department of Labor to Report Findings to Congress

Statement

On Friday, November 22, 2019, Congressman Al Green released the following statement regarding the passage of his amendment to H.R. 1309 -- the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act:

"The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act -- H.R. 1309 -- addresses the alarming rates of violence against professionals working in the health care and social service industries. These workers face rates of violence up to 12 times higher than rates of violence experienced by workers in the overall workforce. Unfortunately, most incidents of workplace violence go unreported so that rate does not fully capture the severity of this problem. The epidemic of workplace violence against the very individuals that work to ensure our health as well as improve our quality of life must end, and that starts with accurate reporting.

"H.R. 1309 -- which I am proud to co-sponsor -- requires employers to submit an annual report to the Secretary of the Department of Labor that includes the frequency, quantity, and severity of workplace violence as well as any response or investigation arising from an incident. My amendment to this legislation takes this good faith effort a step further by requiring the Secretary of Labor to provide a summary of the report's statistics to Congress. Submitting this information will offer transparency and accurate visibility of workplace violence statistics, which will aid in the crafting of further legislation on this issue.

"I thank my colleagues for their support in passing my amendment to H.R. 1309, and I am honored that the amendment, as well as the overall bill, have passed the full House. I hope that this important legislation not only passes the Senate but is also signed into law by the President."

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