Sen. Baldwin introduces bill aimed at protecting health care workers

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Civic Media) – A bill introduced in the Senate Tuesday would seek to protect health care workers at their workplaces across the country.

Senate Bill 1176, introduced by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, would federally mandate a workplace violence protection plan, which includes a review of security, staffing and violent incidents at certain health care facilities.

“We can & must do more to prevent the senseless violence against our health care workers,” Baldwin posted on Twitter Wednesday. “My bill would do just that — keep our frontline heroes safe and help address our health care workforce shortage.”

There are 22 co-sponsors of the bill, all Democratic Senators. The bill was read and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Our nurses, doctors, & social workers deserve to work in an environment free from violence. Today, I introduced legislation to make sure employers put in place violence-prevention plans to keep our health care heroes safe while on the job.

— Sen. Tammy Baldwin (@SenatorBaldwin) April 18, 2023

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported Thursday that Wisconsin is not among eight states that already require similar workplace violence prevention plans.

Baldwin introduced similar legislation last year, which failed to advance.