Husch Blackwell’s Donna Pryor and Laura Higbee provide an update to our January post on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) intention to convene a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel (SBAR Panel). This panel would help decide whether OSHA should enact a Prevention of Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance standard. Read more
Workplace violence has become a hot topic in today’s discourse; however, workplace violence is not just headline fodder for media outlets. The trend is well-documented and especially felt by the healthcare industry which continues to experience the brunt after the onslaught of COVID-19. In 2018, 73% of all nonfatal workplace violence incidents involved healthcare workers. A late 2020 survey reported that 20% of nurses reported they were facing an increase in workplace violence after the COVID-19 pandemic began. Another study reported a 14.6% increase in workplace violence at New Jersey hospitals over the prior three years.
On Friday, May 6, the Tennessee Bar Association held its first in-person Labor & Employment Law Forum since 2019. Among the presenters were John Bode of Miller & Martin PLLC and Paul Merritt of Fortress Consulting, LLC, who discussed workplace violence.