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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, Second Regular Session
health care workers; assault; prevention
Purpose
Establishes that a person who knowingly assaults a health care worker who is engaged in work duties has committed aggravated assault. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, an aggravated assault against a health care worker that results in physical injury. Directs health care employers to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan and outlines minimum requirements.
Background
A person commits aggravated assault if the person commits the assault knowing, or having reason to know, that the victim is any of the following while engaged in the professional's official duties: 1) a peace officer or a person under the direction of such; 2) a constable or a person under the direction of such; 3) a fire fighter, fire investigator, fire inspector, emergency medical technician or paramedic or a person under the direction of such; 4) a teacher or employee of a school while on school grounds or in any part of a building or vehicle used for school purposes or authorized and organized classroom activities; 5) a health care practitioner or a person under the direction of such; 6) a prosecutor; 7) a code enforcement officer; 8) a state or municipal park ranger; 9) a public defender; or 10) a judicial officer. Generally, aggravated assault under these circumstances is a class 6 felony (A.R.S. § 13-1204).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Establishes that a person who knowingly assaults a health care worker who is engaged in work duties has committed aggravated assault, with certain exceptions.
2. Classifies, as a class 5 felony, aggravated assault against:
a) a health care worker who is engaged in work duties if the assault involves physical injury; and
b) a fire fighter, fire investigator, fire inspector, emergency medical technician or paramedic, or a person under the direction of such a person, while engaged in official duties if the assault involves physical injury.
3. Obligates health care employers (employers), within six months of the effective date of this legislation, to develop, implement and maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan that:
a) includes components specifically tailored to the conditions and hazards of the employer's sites and patient-specific risk factors;
b) identifies individuals responsible for implementation of the plan;
c) requires posting of signs, as prescribed, in public areas throughout the employer's sites;
d) includes outlined reporting, incident response and post-incident investigation procedures;
e) includes procedures for emergency response and incidents involving dangerous weapons; and
f) requires employers to provide information to health care workers about the worker's ability to report an assault to law enforcement and assist in reporting the assault.
4. Obligates each employer to make their workplace violence prevention plan available to health care workers and contractors.
5. Requires employers to investigate a workplace violence incident and perform the following functions as soon as practicable after gaining knowledge of an incident:
a) review the related circumstances;
b) solicit input from involved health care workers and supervisors regarding the cause of the incident and if corrective measures could have prevented its occurrence;
c) document the findings, recommendations and corrective measures for each conducted investigation; and
d) file an annual report with the Department of Health Services documenting the number of incidents each year.
6. Directs each employer to provide training and education to its health care workers who may be exposed to hazards and risks associated with workplace violence.
7. Requires each employer to maintain:
a) records related to each of the employer's workplace violence prevention plans, including identifying, evaluating and correcting hazards, risks and training procedures; and
b) a violent incident log for recording workplace violence incidents and related investigations as prescribed.
8. Requires employers to annually evaluate the implementation and efficacy of the workplace violence prevention plan in writing.
9. Directs employers to adopt policies that prohibits discrimination or retaliation against a health care worker for:
a) reporting to or seeking assistance from the employer, law enforcement, local emergency services or a government agency participating in an incident investigation; or
b) acting in self-dense or the defense of others in response to a workplace violence incident, threat or concern.
10. Defines health care worker and health care employer.
11. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
JUD 2/21/20 DP 6-3-1-0
3rd Read 3/5/20 40-19-1
Prepared by Senate Research
March 16, 2020
CRS/kja