Senate Amendments – AB 2975 – CA

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2975 (Gipson)
As Amended August 22, 2024
Majority vote

Requires the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (Standards Board), by March 1, 2027, to amend the workplace violence prevention in health care standards to require certain licensed hospitals to implement a weapons detection screening policy that requires the use of weapons detection devices that automatically screen a person’s body at specified entrances, and adopt related policies, staffing and signage, as specified.

Senate Amendments

1) Revise, from March 1, 2025 to March 1, 2027, the date by which the Standards Board must amend the workplace violence prevention in health care standards to include certain new requirements for hospitals. [1]

2) Revise the requirements for the amended standards in the following ways:

a) Delete the requirement that a hospital maintain metal detectors at specified locations in the hospital, and instead require that a hospital implement a weapons detection screening policy that requires the use of weapons detection devices that automatically screen a person’s body, as specified, in specified locations in the hospital. b) Prohibit hospitals from solely using handheld metal detector wands, and exclude from this prohibition small and rural hospitals, entrances with existing space limitations as specified, and hospitals that exclusively provide extended hospital care to patients with complex medical and rehabilitative needs. c) Require the Standards Board to define the list of applicable security mechanisms, devices, or technologies that meet the requirements above. d) Revise the prohibition on applying the requirements to ambulance entrances to instead make it permissible. e) Require, instead of a security officer, a hospital to assign appropriate personnel, other than a health care provider, who meet specified training standards to implement the weapon detection screening policy, including the monitoring and operation of the weapons detection devices as specified. f) Require that a hospital implement training for personnel responsible for implementing the detection screening policy that includes a minimum of eight hours of training on specified topics, including implicit bias. g) Require a hospital to determine how the training is satisfied, provided the total amount of training received meets the minimum amount of time required. h) Include a provision permitting a hospital to exclude current hospital employees or healthcare providers who enter a hospital wearing an identification badge bearing their name and title from undergoing weapons detection screening. i) Delete the requirement that a hospital adopt reasonable protocols for storage of any patient, family, or visitor property that may be used as a weapon, and instead require that the weapons detection screening policy include reasonable protocols addressing how the hospital will respond if a dangerous weapon is detected. j) Provide that, if an individual triggers the weapons detection device, the individual has the right to leave the facility with the object and the right to return without the object and without being denied entry to the facility solely for the reason of previously possessing the detected object. k) Require that a hospital post a notice of the weapons detection screening, as specified, in a conspicuous location in a size and manner determined by the Standards Board, within reasonable proximity of any public entrances where weapons detection devices are utilized. l) Require the Division of Occupational Safety and Health to set an effective date that is no longer than 90 days after the standard is adopted for hospitals to comply with these requirements. m) Make technical and conforming changes. [2]

COMMENTS

Several studies and reports over the years have shown the risk of workplace violence to hospital workers is higher than in other industries. In 2018, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that 73 percent of all nonfatal workplace violence-related injuries involved healthcare workers. [3] In the report, BLS also found that, in 2018, nonfatal assaults were made on hospital workers in this country a rate of 10.4 assaults per 10,000 workers. This rate is much higher as compared to all industry, where BLS found a rate of 2.1 nonfatal assaults per 10,000 workers. [4] In more recent years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, workplace violence in healthcare settings has become an even more visible problem, presenting unique challenges for both patients and providers. [5] A 2023 study by Patient Safety Network found that healthcare workers are five times more likely to sustain a workplace violence injury than in other professions. [6] This problem is echoed around the world, with the World Health Organization finding that healthcare workers worldwide are at risk of workplace violence, with up to 38 percent of workers experiencing physical violence at some point in their careers. Most violence is committed by patients and visitors. [7] This is even more concerning given that the healthcare industry is already experiencing high staff burnout and a critical shortage of workers. [8]

According to the Author

“Healthcare workers are on the front lines of patient care and often face patients or family members in crisis. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers are five times more likely to suffer a workplace violence injury than workers overall, and the prevalence of this violence has been trending upward. The issue of workplace violence adds to healthcare worker stress and burnout. AB 2975 proposes to enhance the required safety measures for hospitals by requiring common-sense measures, such as properly staffed metal detectors, to ensure that hospitals remain a safe place of healing, not violence.” The author adds that, “Violence affects all communities but is a particular issue in marginalized neighborhoods. A study conducted by UC Davis estimated that, in 2020, on average, there were approximately 14 more incidents of firearm violence in the least-privileged zip codes compared to the most privileged zip codes, and almost 150 more aggravated assaults and five more homicides. [9] We want to make sure that hospitals stay a safe space of healing no matter what zip code you live in. Everyone deserves to access medical care without fear of violence and healthcare workers deserve to go to work without fear of violence.”

Arguments in Support

Services Employees International Union California State Council (SEIU California), sponsor of the bill, states, “Workplace violence is a growing concern in hospitals, with reported rates of violence up 5% in 2023, which is an all-time high. Far too often, healthcare workers are facing weapons that escalate the consequences for those involved. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to face violence in the workplace than any other profession. Nurses and other healthcare workers are often required to search and seize weapons from visitors and patients, taking time away from their calling, caring for patients. In 2022 at Encino Hospital, a patient came in with a knife and became enraged about the wait times in the emergency room. The patient stabbed one nurse and the nurse and physician who responded to the incident. The Emergency Department was shut down, which delayed access to care for everyone in that community, including the three healthcare workers who had to be driven to a different hospital for care. These workers now have a lifetime of trauma to recover from.”

Arguments in Opposition

The California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems is opposed unless amended and states, “Current statutes and regulations already address metal detection devices when weapons are reasonably expected. Cal/OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care’s existing regulations require hospitals to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan, identify, and evaluate safety and security risks, and take corrective actions. The current regulation proposes several corrective measures that hospitals may consider, such as metal detection devices in areas where visitors and patients are “reasonably anticipated to possess firearms or other weapons” that could be used to commit violence. Consequently, many hospitals, including some public health care systems, across the state have already implemented metal detection screening protocols at specific locations and entrances where heightened security measures are deemed necessary.”

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: 1) The Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) would likely incur annual costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement the provisions of the bill (Occupational Safety and Health Fund). 2) This bill would result in increased costs to the State’s public hospitals to install and staff weapons detections systems. The aggregate cost across all hospitals run by the State is unknown, but would likely reflect one-time and annual costs, each potentially in the millions of dollars. (General Fund and special funds).

VOTES:

ASM LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT: 6-0-1 YES: Ortega, Alanis, Wendy Carrillo, Lee, Ward, Zbur ABS, ABST OR NV: Flora ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-1-3 YES: Wicks, Arambula, Bryan, Calderon, Wendy Carrillo, Mike Fong, Grayson, Haney, Hart, Pellerin, Villapudua NO: Dixon ABS, ABST OR NV: Sanchez, Jim Patterson, Ta ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 55-0-25 YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Juan Carrillo, Wendy Carrillo, Connolly, Davies, Flora, Mike Fong, Gabriel, Garcia, Gipson, Grayson, Haney, Irwin, Jackson, Jones-Sawyer, Kalra, Lee, Low, Lowenthal, Maienschein, McCarty, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Stephanie Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Ramos, Rendon, Reyes, Rodriguez, Blanca Rubio, Santiago, Schiavo, Ting, Valencia, Villapudua, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Wood, Zbur, Robert Rivas ABS, ABST OR NV: Calderon, Cervantes, Chen, Megan Dahle, Dixon, Essayli, Vince Fong, Friedman, Gallagher, Hart, Holden, Hoover, Lackey, Mathis, Papan, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Luz Rivas, Sanchez, Soria, Ta, Waldron, Wallis, Weber SENATE FLOOR: 34-0-6 YES: Allen, Archuleta, Ashby, Atkins, Becker, Blakespear, Bradford, Caballero, Cortese, Dodd, Durazo, Eggman, Glazer, Gonzalez, Grove, Hurtado, Jones, Laird, Limón, McGuire, Menjivar, Min, Newman, Padilla, Portantino, Roth, Rubio, Skinner, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Umberg, Wahab, Wiener, Wilk ABS, ABST OR NV: Alvarado-Gil, Dahle, Nguyen, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto

UPDATED

VERSION: August 22, 2024 CONSULTANT: Erin Hickey / L. & E. / (916) 319-2092 FN: 0004852

Disclaimer: The information provided above, and contained in this web site, is organized by David Gilberts for general informational purposes to help hospital security teams and administrators find information. Citations are provided to the original sources. No information presented on this page or published on this web site is, or is intended to be, legal advice. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal counsel, and should not be relied upon as such. The law is complex and changes frequently, and its application varies depending on the specific facts and circumstances. Anyone seeking legal advice or assistance should consult with a qualified attorney licensed to practice law in their jurisdiction. This information does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the author. We disclaim all liability for any actions you take or fail to take based on the information provided.