FILED ON: 12/28/2011

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3864

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Eleven

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An Act to promote health through workplace safety for social workers.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  The executive office of health and human services shall by regulation require that programs providing direct services to clients and operated by or licensed, certified, or funded by a department or division of the executive office of health and human services (“programs”) establish a workplace violence prevention and crisis response plan for social workers, human services workers, volunteers, and all other employees.

Programs shall assess and annually review factors that may put social workers, human services workers, volunteers, and all other employees at risk of workplace violence. Factors shall include, but need not be limited to working outside normal business hours; working alone; working with people in crisis; and working with people with known histories of violent behavior.

Based on the assessment and subsequent annual review, the program shall: (a) establish a system for centrally recording all incidents of workplace violence or threats of workplace violence against social workers, human services workers, volunteers, and all other employees; (b) prepare a written violence prevention and crisis response plan that includes measures the program intends to take to respond to any incident of workplace violence against human services workers; (c) provide each worker with a copy of the violence prevention and crisis response plan; (d)  implement training to educate social workers, human services workers, volunteers, and all other employees about workplace violence and ways to reduce risks; and (e) develop and maintain a violence prevention and response team to monitor ongoing compliance with the violence prevention and crisis response plan and to assist any social workers, human services workers, volunteers, and all other employees victimized by or threatened with workplace violence.