Several states considering bills to protect HCWs from assault

Editor's Note

Pleas by some states to be kind to healthcare workers (HCWs), who are exhausted and burned out from caring for COVID-19 patients, have expanded to bills that would offer protection for HCWs against physical or verbal assault as well as other forms of abuse like doxxing, the March 8 Healthcare Finance reports.

• Oregon is offering a House bill that would make it a third-degree assault to intentionally or recklessly injure a HCW on duty, punishable by 5-years in prison or a $125,000 fine, or both.
• A House bill in Michigan would make it a misdemeanor for the physical assault of a HCW on duty, punishable by 93 days in jail or a $1,000 fine. If the HCW works in an emergency room and sustains serious harm, the penalty increases to 1 year in prison and/or a $2,000 fine. If the assault occurs with a weapon, the penalty increases to 4 years in prison and/or a $4,000 fine.
• A new Colorado State Senate bill goes beyond physical assault and bans doxxing of all HCWs. The bill expands on one that banned the doxxing of public health workers last year.
• Maryland is considering a bill that would outlaw the threatening of a public health official, with intent to intimidate or impede their duties. The penalty would be a misdemeanor and include up to 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.
• In Wisconsin, threatening of a public health official is considered a felony.
• New Jersey pending legislation deems threatening of a public health official to be a disorderly persons’ offense, subject to 6 months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Data compiled by the Cleveland Clinic in 2021 shows that workplace violence is about four times more prevalent in healthcare than in other industries, the report says.