In a letter to House leadership, IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. is urging members of the House to support the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, H.R. 1195.

This bipartisan legislation introduced by Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) would create and maintain needed protections against workplace violence for healthcare and social service workers.

“Health care and social service workers who are called on to help us and our families in times of need deserve a safe and secure work environment,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “This legislation would instruct the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to issue a workplace violence prevention standard requiring employers in the health care and social service sectors to develop and implement a plan to protect their employees from workplace violence.”

A 2016 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study concluded that rates of violence against healthcare workers are up to 12 times higher than rates of violence for the overall workforce.