A bill to strengthen protections for health care workers that was passed the Massachusetts House of Representatives with no opposition was spearheaded by Watertown State Rep. John Lawn. See information about bill H.4767 provided by Rep. Lawn’s office, below.
The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill on Nov. 19, 2025, that strengthens protections for health care workers, establishes preventive and protective standards to reduce the risk of violence, improves health care facility incident reporting, enhances interagency coordination to safeguard privacy, and creates legal protections for certain employees harmed in the line of duty.
“Health care workers are heroes who are responsible for saving lives and for improving the overall health of our Commonwealth, which is why we owe it to them to ensure that they are able to do their jobs without fear for their wellbeing,” said House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano (D-Quincy). “I want to thank Chairs Cahill and Lawn and for their work on this legislation, as well as all my colleagues in the House for voting in favor of these important protections.”
“Every day frontline health care workers are asked to do their jobs under the threat of violence,” said Representative Dan Cahill (D-Lynn), House Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. “This bill makes it clear that protecting our health care workers is a matter of public safety and an urgent responsibility. By requiring health care employers to assess risks, train staff, report incidents, and respond to violence with real accountability, we are taking long overdue steps to ensure that no worker stands alone in harm’s way.”
“Every day, health care workers face an imminent risk of workplace violence. This bill takes decisive action to ensure our laws reflect our values and deliver real protections for those who protect us,” said Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. (D-Watertown), lead sponsor of the bill and House Chair of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. “The coordinated work of the Legislature, the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, the Massachusetts Nurses Association and 1199SEIU sends a unified message that the Commonwealth is committed to empowering our health care workforce.”
Every 38 minutes in Massachusetts health care facilities someone, most often a clinician or an employee, is physically assaulted, endures verbal abuse, or is threatened, according to the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association. Violence against health care workers most often occurs in emergency rooms, inpatient units and psychiatric units. To support a culture of safety and respect in health care facilities, the bill passed takes the following approach:
Prevention Plans, Training and Reporting
• Establishes a statewide requirement for health care employers to address workplace violence through a standardized framework, requiring annual and facility-specific risk assessments conducted with employees and labor representatives to identify factors that place staff at risk.
• Mandates a written violence prevention plan that includes hazard mitigation strategies, employee training, post-incident debriefing and a crisis response program.
• Requires annual reporting of workplace violence incidents to the Department of Public Health (DPH) and district attorneys, supporting statewide and county-level data tracking while maintaining data privacy. The de-identified data will be publicly published and categorized by occupation and incident type.
• Imposes civil penalties against a health care employer for noncompliance (up to $2,000 per violation) and protects employees from retaliation.
Criminal Protections and Penalties for Assaults Against a Health Care Workers
The bill codifies graduated penalties for assaulting an employee or contracted employee in the line of duty. With 91 percent of violent incidents in hospitals committed by patients against workers, it focuses on health care settings where violence is most prevalent. Strengthening these protections ensures that direct health care providers, and the staff who support facility operations, on-site administrative work, security, or emergency medical transportation, have an opportunity to seek the justice that they are entitled to through the following penalties:
• Assault causing bodily injury: Up to 5 years in state prison, up to 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction, a fine of $500 – $5,000, or combination of imprisonment and fines.
• Assault causing serious bodily injury: Up to 10 years in state prison, up to 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction, a fine of $500 – $5,000 fine, or combination of imprisonment and fines.
Paid Leave for Employees
This bill establishes that employees directly employed by a health care employer in high-acuity settings, who suffer workplace violence resulting in bodily injury or serious bodily injury are entitled to paid leave without using any accrued time (vacation, sick or personal).
Privacy Protection for Employees and Union Members
Victims of workplace violence who are employed directly by a health care facility, or who are union members, may provide either the address of their health care facility or that of their labor organization instead of their personal home address for all court documents related to a workplace violence incident.
Alternative Pathways for Behavioral and Mental Health and Data Protection
• Mandates a statewide report from the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security (EOPSS) to improve care and alternative treatment options for those with mental or behavioral health diagnoses, and for criminal justice patients.
• Requires identification of new, non-arrest pathways to reduce unnecessary criminal justice involvement for high-acuity behavioral health patients.
• All recommendations must include strong safeguards, penalties for data misuse, and full compliance with federal confidentiality laws, including heightened protections for behavioral health and substance-use information.
• Ensures that improving data sharing of workplace violence incidents to improve safety does not come at the expense of any patient or health care worker’s privacy.
The bill passed the House of Representatives 158-0. It now goes to the Senate for consideration.
Statements of Support:
MHA President & CEO Steve Walsh
“This legislation is a commitment to every frontline healthcare employee to provide a safer working environment to treat their patients. We are grateful to the House for making this effort a priority and helping us to deliver on the pledge to offer our workers the protections they deserve. Thank you to Speaker Mariano, Chair Michlewitz, and longtime legislative sponsors and advocates Majority Leader Moran and Chair Lawn.
Our hospitals are proud to be working in close collaboration with the MNA and 1199SEIU to stem the tide of the current workplace violence crisis — especially as our healthcare system remains under significant strain.”
Katie Murphy, RN, President of the MNA
“Violence has steadily, and alarmingly, increased in the healthcare workplace. First and foremost, this bill takes decisive and impactful action to prevent violence in healthcare. When violence does occur, this legislation will provide victims with support and recourse. MNA nurses and healthcare professionals thank Chairman Lawn for sponsoring and championing this bill and Speaker Mariano, Chairman Michlewitz and Chairman Cahill for their work and leadership.”
Cari Medina, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU
“Workplace violence is a very real and serious problem for the entire care team. 1199SEIU strongly supports this bill that will directly engage caregivers in developing facility-specific risk assessments and a comprehensive violence prevention program for hospitals. We thank Chair Lawn, Speaker Mariano and the full House for advancing this critical effort to make hospital caregivers safer while strengthening the Commonwealth’s healthcare system.”