District 30 Rep. Ron Gillham introduced a workplace violence bill that would ensure certain employers provide clear victims’ rights information to employees. House Bill 178 requires that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development provide employers, at no cost, a report that summarizes the legal rights and protections to workplace crime victims. It also requires that the frontline employers post a summary copy of the report in a location where employees can easily see it. The summary must include the grounds upon which a private citizen or peace officer may, without warrant, arrest a person, and state the minimum sentencing and aggravating mitigators the courts will consider for assault or harassment against frontline workers.
Rep. Gillham spoke to KSRM explaining House Bill 178, “That was brought about by three different incidents at emergency ward at the hospital. First there was a doctor that had his nose broke and there was two different nurses who were attacked. They were told ‘get tougher skin’. They did not realize that they had a protection, the same as a police officer against assault. They were told they could not bring charges against the people that attacked them because, according to their supervisors, when somebody comes to the hospital, they are (quote) ‘not in their right mind’. So, what I did was put this together that they will have to put on the wall like OSHA, forms that say you are protected. It’s just information is all it is. I talked to Rep. (Sarah) Vance. Her only suggestion was to probably do an amendment that when somebody is hired, a police officer, first responder, nurse, doctor, in their hiring packet will be this same form saying you have the right to be protected. You have the right to press assault charges if you are assaulted. One of the nurses I talked to said that when they put that on the wall, it makes a major difference. When people come in and see it that they can be charged, they kind of think twice about it.”
Gillham states that with this bill, the legislature would take an important step in ensuring critical employees are aware of the protections they are provided under law. House Bill 178 was introduced Friday.
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