Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB240 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	S.B. No. 240
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health
6	6	facilities.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
9	9	adding Subtitle H to read as follows:
10	10	SUBTITLE H. HEALTH FACILITY EMPLOYEES
11	11	CHAPTER 331. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
12	12	Sec. 331.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
13	13	(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
14	14	Commission.
15	15	(2) "Committee" means the workplace violence
16	16	prevention committee or other committee responsible for developing
17	17	a facility's workplace violence prevention plan under Section
18	18	331.002.
19	19	(3) "Facility" means:
20	20	(A) a home and community support services agency
21	21	licensed or licensed and certified under Chapter 142 to provide
22	22	home health services as defined by Section 142.001 that employs at
23	23	least two registered nurses;
24	24	(B) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 and a
25	25	hospital maintained or operated by an agency of this state that is
26	26	exempt from licensing under that chapter;
27	27	(C) a nursing facility licensed under Chapter 242
28	28	that employs at least two registered nurses;
29	29	(D) an ambulatory surgical center licensed under
30	30	Chapter 243;
31	31	(E) a freestanding emergency medical care
32	32	facility as defined by Section 254.001; and
33	33	(F) a mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577.
34	34	Sec. 331.002. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION COMMITTEE. (a)
35	35	Each facility shall establish a workplace violence prevention
36	36	committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop
37	37	the workplace violence prevention plan required under Section
38	38	331.004.
39	39	(b) A committee must include at least:
40	40	(1) one registered nurse who provides direct care to
41	41	patients of the facility;
42	42	(2) except as provided by Subsection (c), one
43	43	physician licensed to practice medicine in this state who provides
44	44	direct care to patients of the facility; and
45	45	(3) one facility employee who provides security
46	46	services for the facility if any and if practicable.
47	47	(c) If a facility described by Section 331.001(3)(A) does
48	48	not have on staff at least one physician described by Subsection
49	49	(b)(2), the facility is not required to include a physician on the
50	50	committee.
51	51	(d) A health care system that owns or operates more than one
52	52	facility may establish a single committee for all of the system's
53	53	facilities if:
54	54	(1) the committee develops a violence prevention plan
55	55	for implementation at each facility in the system; and
56	56	(2) data related to violence prevention remains
57	57	distinctly identifiable for each facility in the system.
58	58	Sec. 331.003. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY. (a) A
59	59	facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
60	60	violence prevention policy in accordance with this section to
61	61	protect health care providers and employees from violent behavior
62	62	and threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
63	63	(b) The workplace violence prevention policy must:
64	64	(1) require the facility to:
65	65	(A) provide significant consideration of the
66	66	violence prevention plan recommended by the facility's committee;
67	67	and
68	68	(B) evaluate any existing facility violence
69	69	prevention plan;
70	70	(2) encourage health care providers and employees of
71	71	the facility to provide confidential information on workplace
72	72	violence to the committee;
73	73	(3) include a process to protect from retaliation
74	74	facility health care providers or employees who provide information
75	75	to the committee; and
76	76	(4) comply with commission rules relating to workplace
77	77	violence.
78	78	Sec. 331.004. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN. (a) A
79	79	facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
80	80	violence prevention plan in accordance with this section to protect
81	81	health care providers and employees from violent behavior and
82	82	threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
83	83	(b) A facility's workplace violence prevention plan must:
84	84	(1) be based on the practice setting;
85	85	(2) adopt a definition of "workplace violence" that
86	86	includes:
87	87	(A) an act or threat of physical force against a
88	88	health care provider or employee that results in, or is likely to
89	89	result in, physical injury or psychological trauma; and
90	90	(B) an incident involving the use of a firearm or
91	91	other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care
92	92	provider or employee is injured by the weapon;
93	93	(3) require the facility to provide at least annually
94	94	workplace violence prevention training or education that may be
95	95	included in other required training or education provided to the
96	96	facility's health care providers and employees who provide direct
97	97	patient care;
98	98	(4) prescribe a system for responding to and
99	99	investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents
100	100	at the facility;
101	101	(5) address physical security and safety;
102	102	(6) require the facility to solicit information from
103	103	health care providers and employees when developing and
104	104	implementing a workplace violence prevention plan;
105	105	(7) allow health care providers and employees to
106	106	report incidents of workplace violence through the facility's
107	107	existing occurrence reporting systems; and
108	108	(8) require the facility to adjust patient care
109	109	assignments, to the extent practicable, to prevent a health care
110	110	provider or employee of the facility from treating or providing
111	111	services to a patient who has intentionally physically abused or
112	112	threatened the provider or employee.
113	113	(c) The written workplace violence prevention plan may
114	114	satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b) by referencing other
115	115	internal facility policies and documents.
116	116	(d) A committee at least annually shall:
117	117	(1) review and evaluate the workplace violence
118	118	prevention plan; and
119	119	(2) report the results of the evaluation to the
120	120	governing body of the facility.
121	121	(e) Each facility shall make available on request an
122	122	electronic or printed copy of the facility's workplace violence
123	123	prevention plan to each health care provider or employee of the
124	124	facility. If the committee determines the plan contains information
125	125	that would pose a security threat if made public, the committee may
126	126	redact that information before providing the plan.
127	127	Sec. 331.005. RESPONDING TO INCIDENT OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE.
128	128	(a) Following an incident of workplace violence, a facility shall
129	129	at a minimum offer immediate post-incident services, including any
130	130	necessary acute medical treatment for each health care provider or
131	131	employee of the facility who is directly involved in the incident.
132	132	(b) A facility may not discourage a health care provider or
133	133	employee from exercising the provider's or employee's right to
134	134	contact or file a report with law enforcement regarding an incident
135	135	of workplace violence.
136	136	(c) A person may not discipline, including by suspension or
137	137	termination of employment, discriminate against, or retaliate
138	138	against another person who:
139	139	(1) in good faith reports an incident of workplace
140	140	violence; or
141	141	(2) advises a health care provider or employee of the
142	142	provider's or employee's right to report an incident of workplace
143	143	violence.
144	144	Sec. 331.006. ENFORCEMENT. An appropriate licensing agency
145	145	may take disciplinary action against a person who violates this
146	146	chapter as if the person violated an applicable licensing law.
147	147	SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2024, a facility
148	148	subject to Chapter 331, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
149	149	Act, shall adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and adopt
150	150	and implement a workplace violence prevention plan in accordance
151	151	with Sections 331.003 and 331.004, Health and Safety Code, as added
152	152	by this Act.
153	153	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
154	154	______________________________ ______________________________
155	155	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
156	156	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 240 passed the Senate on
157	157	March 27, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
158	158	the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 2, 2023, by the
159	159	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
160	160	______________________________
161	161	Secretary of the Senate
162	162	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 240 passed the House, with
163	163	amendment, on April 18, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 122,
164	164	Nays 26, one present not voting.
165	165	______________________________
166	166	Chief Clerk of the House
167	167	Approved:
168	168	______________________________
169	169	Date
170	170	______________________________
171	171	Governor