ANALYSIS: States Propel Curbs on Health Care Workplace Violence

Lack of movement from federal authorities on the rising problem of workplace violence against health care workers has left states free to take the lead. With incidents in hospitals and other health care settings on the rise since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of states requiring these employers to protect their staff has more than doubled in the past three years.

Although these state laws have proliferated quickly, they share numerous common threads—a silver lining for employers with operations in multiple states that have to comply with a patchwork of requirements.

Federal Efforts

In April, Sen. Tammy ...