Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 1309 - Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Workers Act

(House Rules)
(Rep. Courtney, D-CT, and 228 cosponsors)

The Administration opposes H.R. 1309, which would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue an interim final standard addressing workplace violence in the healthcare and social service sectors. This legislation mandates adopting California's healthcare workplace violence standards nationwide, which would undercut important principles of federalism and could put workers' health and jobs in jeopardy. Additionally, the bill would exempt this regulation from many procedural protections designed to ensure that OSHA rulemakings both protect workers and are economically feasible to implement.

The Administration believes that one State's standards may not be suitable standards for all areas of the country. California's standards may not appropriately protect workers in every State, and California's standards may not be economically or technologically feasible or appropriate for every State. At a minimum, the Administration does not support turning one State's standard into a national standard without a cost-benefit analysis to assess whether doing so might benefit workers.

The Administration also believes the bill's timelines for issuing the interim final, proposed final, and final standards are inappropriate. Notably, OSHA has already announced plans for a Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) panel to address these issues. The Administration does not support legislation requiring OSHA to short-circuit that SBREFA process.

The Administration believes that workplace violence is a serious concern. This bill, however, is not the right way to protect American workers.

If H.R. 1309 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he veto it.