Workplace violence prevention - Washington

Washington has a few laws regarding workplace violence prevention for certain health care and retail settings.

Safety in Health Care Settings: RCW 49.19

Washington law requires employers in health care settings to take additional steps to protect the safety of employees. This law applies to hospitals; home health, hospice, and home care agencies; evaluation and treatment facilities; behavioral health programs; and ambulatory surgical facilities. Requirements for these employers include:

• Workplace violence plan: Every three years, employers must create a plan to protect employees from workplace violence. If the facility does not already have a safety committee, a workplace violence committee may be formed to develop, implement, and monitor effectiveness of the plan. The plan should include address security considerations and factors that may contribute to or prevent the risk of violence, such as:
  • The physical attributes of the health care setting, including security systems, alarms, emergency response, and security personnel available;
  • Staffing patterns, patient classifications, and procedures to mitigate employee time spent alone working in areas at high risk for workplace violence;
  • Job design, equipment, and facilities;
  • First aid and emergency procedures;
  • Reporting of violent acts;
  • Employee education and training requirements and implementation strategy;
  • Security risks associated with specific units, areas of the facility with uncontrolled access, late night or early morning shifts, and employee security in areas surrounding the facility (such as employee parking areas); and
  • Processes and interventions to help an employee directly affected by a violent act.
• Employers must review the frequency of incidents of workplace violence at least annually. The review should identify the causes for and consequences of violent acts at the facility and emerging issues that might be contributing to workplace violence. Adjustments to the plan should be made as needed.
• Violence prevention training. Employers must provide violence prevention training for employees. Training must occur within 90 days of employee hire date. Training may include classes, interactive Q&A sessions, hands-on instruction, video training, verbal training, and more. Topics must include:
  • The workplace violence prevention plan;
  • General safety procedures;
  • Violence-predicting behaviors and factors;
  • The violence escalation cycle;
  • De-escalation techniques to minimize violent behavior;
  • Strategies to prevent physical harm with hands-on practice or role play;
  • Response team processes;
  • Proper application and use of physical and chemical restraints;
  • Documentation and reporting incidents;
  • The debrief process for affected employees following violent acts; and
  • Resources available to employees to cope with the effects of violence.
• Recordkeeping. Health care employers must keep detailed records of violent acts that occur in the workplace against employees, patients, or other visitors to the facility. Records must be kept for at least five years and be made available for inspection by the Department of Labor & Industries upon request.

Workplace Violence Safety Plan in Public and Private Facilities for the Mentally Ill: RCW 72.23.400

The requirements for public and private hospitals for the mentally ill are similar those required for other health care facilities in the state. They include the following:

• Workplace safety assessment to identify existing and potential hazards for violence.
• Workplace safety plan, developed with input from the hospital’s safety committee, to address security considerations and factors that may contribute to or prevent the risk of violence, such as:
  • Physical attributes of the hospital including access control, egress control, door locks, lighting, and alarm systems;
  • Staffing, including security staffing;
  • Personnel policies;
  • First aid and emergency procedures;
  • Reporting violent acts, taking appropriate action in response to violent acts, and follow-up procedures after violent acts;
  • Criteria for determining and reporting verbal threats;
  • Employee education and training;
  • Clinical and patient policies and procedures including those related to smoking; activity, leisure, and therapeutic programs; communication between shifts; and restraint and seclusion.
• Plan review: The safety plan must be evaluated, reviewed, and amended as needed at least annually.
• Violence prevention training: Covered employers must provide violence prevention training to all affected employees. The training must address at least the following topics:
  • General safety procedures;
  • Personal safety procedures and equipment;
  • The violence escalation cycle;
  • Violence-predicting factors;
  • How to safely obtain patient history from patients with violent behavior or a history of violent acts;
  • Verbal and physical techniques to de-escalate and minimize violent behavior;
  • Strategies to avoid physical harm;
  • Restraint techniques;
  • Documenting and reporting incidents
  • The process by which employees affected by a violent act may debrief;
  • Resources available to employees for coping with violence;
  • The hospital's workplace violence prevention plan;
  • Use of an intershift reporting process to communicate between shifts regarding patients who are agitated; and
  • Use of a multidisciplinary treatment process or other methods for clinicians to communicate with staff regarding patient treatment plans and how they can collaborate to prevent violence.
• Recordkeeping. Hospital employers must keep detailed records of any violent acts that occur in the workplace. Records must be kept for at least five years and be made available for inspection by the Department of Labor and Industries upon request. Each record must include, at a minimum:
  • A full description of the violent act;
  • When, where, and to whom the violent act occurred;
  • Who perpetrated the violent act;
  • The nature and severity of any injury;
  • Weapons used, if any;
  • Number of witnesses;
  • Action taken by the employer in response to the violence.

Late Night Retail Workers Crime Protection: WAC 296-832

The Late Night Retail Workers Crime Protection rule applies to retail businesses operating between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. It does not apply to restaurants, hotels, taverns, and lodging facilities. It requires employers to do the following:

• Provide crime prevention training to employees. The training must include information on:
  • The employer’s security policies, safety and security procedures, and personal safety and crime prevention techniques;
  • How keeping the store clean, neat, and uncluttered discourages potential robbers;
  • Why the cash register should be kept in plain view from outside the store, if the store layout allows;
  • Reasons for operating the business with only a minimum number of cash registers at night;
  • Reasons for keeping cash register funds to a minimum;
  • How to take extra precautions after dark such as keeping alert, making sure appropriate lights are on, inspecting dark corners, and identifying possible hiding places for robbers;
  • Violence prevention procedures in case of a robbery.
• Employees must sign a statement affirming they have completed such training, along with the date, time, and place where training was completed.
• Employers must keep records of employee training and provide them to the Department of Labor and Industries on request.
• Training materials about crime prevention must be made available to all employees upon request.
• Refresher crime prevention training must be conducted annually.
• Employers must provide a drop-safe, limited access safe, or comparable device in the store.
• Signs must be posted in a conspicuous place indicating:
  • There is a safe in the store;
  • Employees do not have access to the safe;
  • Cash registers contain limited cash.
• Outside lighting must be provided for the store’s approach area and parking lot during all nighttime hours the business is open.

Related information

• Workplace violence prevention - ezExplanation
• Active shooter - ezExplanation
• Workplace violence in health care - ezExplanation
• Workplace violence in retail - ezExplanation

Citations

• RCW 49.19
• RCW 72.23.400
• WAC 296-832
• 29 USC 654 — Duties of employers and employees (General Duty Clause)