SEIU Local 121RN President Gayle Batiste, RN, speaks at a press conference about workplace violence in Sacramento on June 19.
Sacramento, CA – State authorities responded to demands from healthcare workers for new rules that will protect them from violent attacks on the job, with the Cal/OSHA Standards Board adopting a worker petition that will make California’s workplace safety standards for health care settings the strongest in the nation. After numerous attempts were denied in the 1990s, this victory comes at a much needed time and will redefine what it takes to have a safe and secure workplace in this day.
“By giving a green light to the California Safe Care Standard, California has taken the lead in preventing workplace violence for health care workers,” said Gayle Batiste, a Registered Nurse at Northridge Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles County. “Health care workers can be proud to have been the driving force behind this huge paradigm shift, which will allow us to put fear behind us and focus on delivering care to our patients.”
On Thursday, June 19, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board accepted the workers’ California Safe Care Standard’s Petition No. 538. The petition approval means California will move forward to create an enforceable, comprehensive workplace violence prevention regulation to protect all classes of workers in all healthcare settings.
The action came after healthcare workers brought their campaign for a Safe Care Standard to a hearing of the rule-making body for Cal/OSHA, the state agency charged with overseeing workplace safety. Dozens testified about the violence they’ve experienced on the job and the culture of fear that pervades health care workplaces because employers are not required to have plans in place to prevent violence. Among those who shared their stories were workers from Olive View-UCLA Medical Center and Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where the Easter stabbings occurred, and Napa State Hospital, where a worker was killed in 2010.
“When healthcare workers are subject to workplace violence day after day, it goes beyond physical mistreatment and takes a toll on our emotions and health,” said Melvi de la Cruz, an RN at an Anaheim hospital. “The new California Safe Care Standard means no one should have to fear coming to work. I’m proud that by standing together as health care workers, we’ve succeeded in making real changes to keep workers safe and stop unacceptable workplace violence.”
Healthcare workers face extremely high levels of violence on the job, including physical, emotional, sexual, and verbal assaults. According to Cal/OSHA, nearly 5,000 incidents of workplace violence in healthcare settings were reported in California from 2010-2012. Many more go unreported.
The federal worker safety agency OSHA has identified healthcare jobs as among the highest risk occupations for workplace violence. The new standard means Cal/OSHA, California’s agency charged with workplace safety, will finally have the authority it needs to require employers to take preventive measures to keep workers safe.
With the support of the 2.1 million-member International Union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 121RN and SEIU Nurse Alliance of California petitioned Cal/OSHA in February to adopt a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare workers. SEIU, which represents Registered Nurses and other healthcare workers across the state, launched the California Safe Care Standard campaign in 2013 in response to the pandemic of violence that healthcare workers face on the job.
For more information about the California Safe Care Standard campaign, visit www.safecarestandard.org.
To read the petition, click here.
