OregonSB 5372025 Regular SessionSenate

Relating to violence in health care settings.

Sponsored By: Deb Patterson (Democratic), Kathleen Taylor (Democratic), Kayse Jama (Democratic), Lisa Reynolds (Democratic), Mark Meek (Democratic), Rob Nosse (Democratic), Travis Nelson (Democratic)

Signed by Governor

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

9 provisions identified: 9 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

Patient safety flags include care protections

Covered hospitals, home health agencies, and home hospice programs must use electronic-record and visual flags for possible violence or disruptive behavior. The Oregon State Hospital is excluded. Protocols must cover authorized staff, adding and reviewing flags, updates, safety steps, privacy, clinical-note links, and training that prevents bias. Patients or authorized representatives can request review and removal of an electronic flag. Staff cannot rely only on an electronic flag to deny eligible services, limit appropriate care, interfere with privacy rights, contact police, disclose information to police, or punish patients.

Health workers can keep surnames private

Direct-care practitioners must wear badges showing their name and professional title, under facility badge policies. Workers at hospitals, home health agencies, and home hospice programs cannot be required to display their last names. They can request a badge showing their last name. Federal laws or rules requiring a last name still apply.

Retaliation protections for workers reporting violence

Employees and job applicants are protected from retaliation for good-faith reports of violence at covered health care workplaces or patients' homes. Workers must notify employers about safety-law violations, but can complain to the state whether or not they notified the employer. The state investigates complaints, protects complainants' identities when requested, and must explain decisions not to issue citations when asked. Retaliation remedies can include back pay, rehiring, or reinstatement; civil claims must be filed within one year. Adverse action within 60 days of protected activity creates a presumption of retaliation that the employer can rebut. The labor commissioner follows state complaint procedures and must notify parties of determinations within 90 days.

Bullet-resistant barriers at emergency intake windows

Covered hospitals must install a bullet-resistant barrier or enclosure at every emergency room intake window. This applies to hospitals newly constructed on or after the law's effective date. It also applies when a hospital renovates or remodels its emergency department on or after that date. The requirement does not order every existing emergency department to retrofit immediately.

State funding supports health care safety

The law provides $394,554 from Oregon's General Fund to the Oregon Health Authority's Public Health Division. The money covers the two-year budget period beginning July 1, 2025. It supports compliance with patient-flagging, emergency-room barrier, home health safety, and identification-badge requirements. This is agency funding, not a direct household payment.

Health workers get clearer assault reporting

The Department of Consumer and Business Services must set rules for investigating, collecting information about, and reporting workplace violence. Health care employers must keep assault records for at least five years, including assaults in patients' homes during home health care. Records must identify the facility, incident time and place, worker and job, assailant type, injury severity, weapons, nearby staffing, and response. Employees and safety committees can request summaries without personal identifying details, used only for violence prevention and program improvement. The department must adopt a standard recording form and submit a consolidated report to legislative committees each year by December 31.

More safety checks for home health

Home health providers must assess safety risks at intake and share known risks, including available violence history, with assigned staff. Intake must ask about pets and securing them, suspected pests, and willingness to secure weapons before visits. Providers must train staff using federal occupational-safety guidance and conduct safety assessments with assigned staff every quarter. They must provide client identity-verification information before initial visits, access to safety information, and ways to check on staff remotely. Policies must allow staff to enter records outside the home and use an escort when safety concerns exist.

Stronger violence prevention for health workers

Oregon expands health care workplace violence rules to home health agencies and home hospice programs; covered employers also include hospitals and surgical centers. The Oregon State Hospital is excluded from the hospital category. Workplace violence includes physical violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, assault, homicide, and other threatening behavior. Employers must assess risks with safety committees, review up to five years of available incident records, and implement prevention plans. Plans must cover staffing, security, reporting, investigations, emergency care, and post-incident support, including trauma counseling. State committee rules require equal worker and employer membership, written meeting records, and regular hourly pay for employee representatives during meetings and training.

Yearly safety training for health workers

Health care employers must provide yearly violence prevention training for employees and on-site contracted security workers. New non-temporary employees must receive training within 90 days; temporary employees must receive it within 14 days. Training covers warning signs, de-escalation, avoiding harm, lawful restraint and self-defense, reporting, and post-incident counseling; someone knowledgeable must answer questions. Employers must give workers and applicable union representatives the written response plan and retaliation notice; new hires receive them within 30 calendar days. Employers and safety committees must review prevention programs every year, instead of at least every two years.

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Anthony Broadman
Democratic • Senate
Courtney Neron Misslin
Democratic • Senate
Floyd Prozanski
Democratic • Senate
Hai Pham
Democratic • House
James Manning Jr.
Democratic • Senate
Janeen Sollman
Democratic • Senate
Lew Frederick
Democratic • Senate
Mari Watanabe
Democratic • House
Sara Gelser Blouin
Democratic • Senate
Sarah McDonald
Democratic • House
Shannon Isadore
Democratic • House
Tom Andersen
Democratic • House
Willy Chotzen
Democratic • House

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 83 • No: 27

House vote • 6/26/2025

Third reading. Carried by Nelson. Passed.

Yes: 37 • No: 12

Senate vote • 6/23/2025

Third reading. Carried by Patterson. Passed.

Yes: 18 • No: 11

legislature vote • 6/17/2025

Ways and Means: Heard and Reported Out with Amendments

Yes: 20 • No: 2

Senate vote • 5/7/2025

Rules: Heard and Reported Out with Amendments

Yes: 4 • No: 1

Senate vote • 4/3/2025

Health Care: Heard and Reported Out