OSHA and NY Workplace Violence Update in Health Care
Summary
Cozen O'Connor summarizes three workplace violence developments affecting healthcare employers. OSHA's proposed 'Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance' rule was moved to the Long-Term Action item in Spring 2025, effectively delaying federal action indefinitely. The 10th Circuit affirmed an OSHA citation against a psychiatric hospital in UHS of Delaware v. OSHRC for failing to protect employees from patient violence. New York enacted a law on December 12, 2025 requiring hospitals and nursing homes to establish workplace violence prevention programs with annual safety assessments beginning in 2027.
What changed
This article discusses three separate developments in workplace violence regulation for healthcare. OSHA's healthcare workplace violence rule has been removed from active regulatory consideration and placed on Long-Term Action, with no federal action expected for at least a year given current deregulatory priorities. A federal appeals court affirmed OSHA's authority to cite healthcare employers under the General Duty Clause for failing to protect workers from workplace violence, establishing that an employer's own written policies can be used to prove feasibility of protective measures. New York enacted legislation requiring hospitals and nursing homes to create comprehensive workplace violence prevention programs and conduct annual facility-specific safety assessments starting in 2027.
Healthcare employers in New York must establish formal workplace violence prevention programs, conduct annual safety and security assessments tailored to their facilities, and update plans to address emerging risks. Employers should review their existing workplace violence policies as OSHA may now reference these documents when bringing citations. Employers in other states should monitor similar legislative activity, as multiple states are moving to fill the federal regulatory gap.
What to do next
- Monitor state workplace violence legislation in jurisdictions where you operate
- Review and enforce internal workplace violence policies as OSHA may cite employers for failing to follow their own policies
- Ensure compliance with New York's December 12, 2025 workplace violence prevention law for hospitals and nursing homes
Archived snapshot
Apr 8, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
April 8, 2026
OSHA and NY Workplace Violence Update in Health Care
John Ho Cozen O'Connor + Follow Contact LinkedIn Facebook X Send Embed
OSHA does not have a specific rule that addresses workplace violence in general industry or health care, although it has long discussed the need for such rules. During the Biden Administration some progress was made to advance a workplace violence rule in health care. However, such a proposed rule, “Workplace Violence in Health Care and Social Assistance,” was moved to the Long-Term Action item in the Spring 2025 regulatory agenda. This effectively means that nothing will happen for at least a year and, given the current deregulatory efforts, likely much longer than that.
OSHA can cite health care (or general industry) employers for workplace violence hazards under the General Duty clause. A recent case in the 10th Circuit affirming such a citation against a psychiatric hospital for failing to protect employees from patient violence illustrates OSHA’s enforcement commitment particularly in health care. In UHS of Delaware v. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Court found on February 13, 2026 that the employer failed to adopt reasonable safety measures, such as limiting patient access to work areas and potential weapons, and did not provide adequate security staff or communication methods to address incidents of violent behavior. The Court also opined that the employers’ own written workplace violence policies can help establish feasibility, i.e., OSHA can point to employers failing to follow the protections they have identified internally to support citations.
In the absence of an imminent federal rule governing workplace violence in health care, many states have moved forward to fill the vacuum. New York is one recent example. On December 12, 2025, Governor Hochul signed a bill that will require hospitals and nursing homes in New York to establish workplace violence prevention programs, conduct annual workplace safety and security assessments beginning in 2027, and update their plans to address new risks. These annual reviews must be tailored to each individual facility and should consider items including: workplace violence incident reports and logs; complaints raised by employees, patients, unions, and visitors; the hospital’s layout and access points; engineering controls and communication systems; and employee training policies and security procedures.
Other states have implemented similar laws, with many others planning to do so, particularly in the health care sector. Some states, notably California, have already implemented general industry workplace violence laws. Employers need to be diligent about ensuring they are monitoring these developments where they do business.
Related Posts
- OSHA Launches Safety Champions Program
- California and New York Pass Workplace Violence Laws: Is Federal OSHA Next?
- Are Random Acts of Violence Recordable OSHA Injuries?
Latest Posts
- OSHA and NY Workplace Violence Update in Health Care
- No Contest Clauses Do Not Work in Florida See more »
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
Attorney Advertising.
©
Cozen O'Connor
Written by:
Cozen O'Connor Contact + Follow John Ho + Follow more less
PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA
- ✔ Increased readership
- ✔ Actionable analytics
- ✔ Ongoing writing guidance Join more than 70,000 authors publishing their insights on JD Supra
Published In:
Biden Administration + Follow Employer Responsibilities + Follow Enforcement Actions + Follow General Duty Clause + Follow Health Care Providers + Follow Healthcare Facilities + Follow Hospitals + Follow New Legislation + Follow New York + Follow Nursing Homes + Follow OSHA + Follow Proposed Rules + Follow Regulatory Agenda + Follow Skilled Nursing Facility + Follow State Labor Laws + Follow Workplace Violence + Follow Workplace Violence Prevention Programs + Follow Administrative Agency + Follow Health + Follow Labor & Employment + Follow more less
Cozen O'Connor on:
"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"
Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra: Sign Up Log in ** By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.* - hide - hide
Related changes
Get daily alerts for JD Supra Healthcare
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Source
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from Cozen O'Connor.
The plain-English summary, classification, and "what to do next" steps are AI-generated from the original text. Cite the source document, not the AI analysis.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when JD Supra Healthcare publishes new changes.