A bill in the Oregon state legislature would toughen penalties for assaulting workers, but it doesn’t go nearly as far as earlier attempts. Attempts to strengthen protections against assault on healthcare workers failed in previous sessions.
Senate Bill 170, unlike previous attempts, applies to all workers, not just those in healthcare.
Oregon Nurses Association (ONA) Director of Government Relations Paige Spence said legislators weren’t receptive to a bill that would only increase penalties for assaulting certain kinds of workers.
SB 170 was unanimously approved by the Senate on March 13. The bill now awaits a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee.
Representative Travis Nelson (D-Portland) said SB 170 “moves the ball in a constructive way.” Nelson was the chief sponsor of a 2024 bill that would have increased criminal penalties for assaulting healthcare workers, even without a prior offense.
Critics of that bill voiced concerns about adding a felony conviction to the record of mentally ill people who seek medical assistance during a behavioral health crisis and end up assaulting a worker.
Healthcare workers make up 10% of the U.S. workforce, but 48% of nonfatal injuries due to workplace violence, according to a legislative bill summary.
The Oregon Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians (OR-ACEP) supported the 2024 attempt but opposed SB 170 for being too weak.
SB 170 would make assault in the fourth degree, which is typically a misdemeanor, a felony if the victim is assaulted on the job and the perpetrator had assaulted workers at least two other times.
“This is such a high bar that only the rarest of cases would face consequences,” OR-ACEP President Christian Smith wrote in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Assault charges are already elevated to a felony if the crime is committed in front of a child, if the victim is pregnant, if any of the perpetrator’s past assaults were against the same victim, or if the perpetrator has at least three previous assault convictions.
Healthcare employers need to take action
A different bill concerning healthcare worker safety is one of ONA’s top legislative priorities this session.
Senate Bill 537 increases requirements for healthcare employers’ safety committees, requires employers to track and report workplace violence incidents — including physical assaults, near-miss incidents, and verbal abuse — and increases safety requirements for employers providing home healthcare.
The bill also includes support for workers who have been assaulted, including trauma counseling, first aid, and wage compensation when a worker can’t complete their shift after an assault.
“We know that legislation alone is never going to be completely able to eradicate workplace violence. So that bill — while we do believe it has some meaningful prevention measures — it also speaks to what improved response should be afforded to workers after an assault does take place,” Spence said.
SB 537 hasn’t had a vote in committee or either chamber yet, but was sent to the Senate Committee on Rules on April 10.
Dozens of healthcare workers testified in support of the bill. Emily Ann Rivas, a nurse working in home health and hospice, described showing up in unfamiliar neighborhoods and entering strangers’ homes in the middle of the night, usually alone.
“I have been chased, screamed at, spit on, robbed, and hit. And still—I show up,” Rivas wrote in testimony in support of SB 537. “Safety isn’t a privilege—it’s a basic expectation, and right now, that expectation is not being met. SB 537 is a step in the right direction.”
Why not apply the same standard of assault to all people, whether they are working or not. This bill implies some victims are more important than others, just as “hate” crimes are weighted more heavily than the same crime without hateful intent.