House to Hold Hearing on Workplace Violence Rules for Health Care / Social Service Employers

ANCOR is sharing this information from Politico Pro because the bill discussed in it would cover Direct Support Professionals, whom the federal government places in the same occupational category as health care and social service employees. ANCOR has been following this issue because of incidents that may occur in our field, which supports individuals with intellectual / developmental disabilties. ANCOR’s primary concern is to ensure both that individuals receive the respect they deserve and that the DSPs who perform important work with these individuals have the support they need. For more background on this issue, please consider this 2016 ANCOR webinar, as much of the information in it is still relevant.

“On Wednesday a House Education and Labor subcommittee will hold a hearing on a workplace violence prevention bill by Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.). The bill would require OSHA to write a rule that compels health care and social service employers to write a plan for violence prevention. Workers in these industries are five times more likely to suffer workplace violence injuries, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in the bill. More here.”