Virginia: New Era for Workplace Violence Reporting in Health Care

Beginning July 1, health care employers in Virginia will be required to create workplace violence prevention plans or reporting systems. Employers must document, track, and analyze incidents of workplace violence and maintain records of incidents for at least two years.

On March 24, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law identical bills, House Bill 2269 and Senate Bill 1260, creating the new reporting requirements. The law aims to enhance the safety of health care workers through continuing education, de-escalation training, risk identification, and violence prevention planning. The bills amend Section 32.1-127 of the Code of Virginia.

California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York state, Oregon, Texas, and Washington state already have such requirements.

Definitions

Hospital. Although the amended Section 32.1-127 and its underlying legislation use the term “hospital,” this term is a bit of a misnomer because it encompasses most health care employers in Virginia. The term is defined by Section 32.1-123 of the Code of Virginia and includes “any facility licensed” pursuant to “Article 1. Hospital and Nursing Home License” and “in which the primary function is the provision of diagnosis, of treatment, and of medical and nursing services, surgical or nonsurgical, for two or more nonrelated individuals.”

Employee of the hospital and employee. “Employee” under amended Section 32.1-127 means “an employee of the hospital or any health care provider credentialed by the hospital or engaged by the hospital to perform health care services on the premises of the hospital.” Incidents that include any staff member, not just those providing health care services, must be captured in the new reporting system.

Workplace violence. Under amended Section 32.1-127, “workplace violence” includes “any act of violence or threat of violence, without regard to the intent of the perpetrator, that occurs against an employee of the hospital while on the premises of such hospital and engaged in the performance of his duties.” This includes threats or use of physical force against an employee that may result in injury, psychological trauma, or stress, “regardless of whether physical injury is sustained.”

Reporting, Tracking Requirements

Qualifying hospitals’ systems must document, track, and analyze any reported incidents of workplace violence. The incident reporting system must include the following components:

• Date and time of the incident.
• Description of the incident, including the affected employees’ job titles.
• Perpetrator’s identity (patient, visitor, employee, or other person).
• Location of the incident.
• Type of incident (physical attack, threat, sexual assault, or other).
• Response and consequences of the incident.
• Reporter’s information (name, job title, and date of completion).

Amended Section 32.1-127 also requires hospitals to report the data they collect, at a minimum, quarterly to the hospital’s chief medical officer and chief nursing officer. Hospitals must send an annual report without personally identifiable information to the Virginia Department of Health that includes the number of incidents reported.

Notice, Policy, Continuing Education Requirements

Qualifying health care employers must notify all employees about the workplace violence incident reporting system, including any new employees during orientation. Employers must also provide training on when and how to report incidents of workplace violence to their employer, security agencies, and appropriate law enforcement authorities.

Amended Section 32.1-127 requires qualifying health care employers to adopt a policy that prohibits any person from discriminating or retaliating against any employee for “reporting to, or seeking assistance or intervention from, the employer, security agencies, law enforcement authorities, local emergency services organizations, government agencies, or others participating in any incident investigation.”

Employers must also analyze the data to make improvements in preventing workplace violence. Amended Section 32.1-127 expressly identifies how such improvements can be made, including by providing continuing education in targeted areas, such as de-escalation training, risk identification, and violence prevention planning.

Steps for Health Care Employers in Virginia

With the July 1 effective date fast approaching, qualifying Virginia health care employers must take immediate steps to create and implement a workplace violence incident reporting system. Steps employers can take to comply with the new law:

• Review employee handbooks and standalone workplace violence and safety policies or implement such policies.
• Review and update onboarding documents for new employees.
• Review employee training and continuing education to determine whether they sufficiently address de-escalation, risk identification, and violence prevention planning.
• Stay up-to-date on potential changes, as the new law directs the Virginia secretary of health and human resources to “convene a stakeholder work group” that includes various state agencies and trade groups “for the purpose of making recommendations on the workplace violence reporting system and policies.” Additional statutes, regulations, and administrative guidance can be expected in the coming years.

Kristina H. Vaquera and Milena Radovic are attorneys with Jackson Lewis in Norfolk, Va. Nicholas M. Cotton and Adrienne M. Wood are attorneys with Jackson Lewis in New Orleans. © 2025 Jackson Lewis. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.