Quick Hits
- In 2025, Oregon enacted SB 537, which expanded the types of healthcare employers required to establish a workplace violence prevention plan, conduct safety and security assessments, and train employees on responding to threats of violence.
- In June 2026, Oregon OSHA published a proposed rule implementing the law, which is expected to take effect in January 2027.
- Oregon OSHA’s proposed rule would broaden the definition of “workplace violence” and explicitly require home health agencies and home hospice programs to have workplace violence prevention programs, in addition to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers, which were already required to have such programs.
Oregon OSHA’s proposed rule implementing SB 537 defines “workplace violence” as “any act or threat of physical violence, assault, homicide, harassment, or intimidation or any other threatening behavior that occurs in the workplace.” This broad definition means compliant prevention plans would have to address a wider range of conduct than physical attacks alone.
The proposed rule would add a new provision that specifies that it is illegal to discriminate against healthcare workers for reporting workplace violence that occurs on the premises of a healthcare employer or in the home of a patient receiving home healthcare services.
The proposed rule would require healthcare employers to conduct periodic security and safety assessments to identify threats of workplace violence and develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan based on the security and safety assessments. Healthcare employers would be required to give each employee a written copy of the workplace violence prevention plan, including a statement explaining that employees who report workplace violence have a right to be protected from retaliation.
The proposed rule also would require healthcare employers to provide annual workplace violence prevention training to employees and any contracted security staff who work on an employer’s premises.
Recordkeeping Requirement
Under the proposed rule, healthcare employers would be required to maintain a record of all workplace violence incidents that occur on the healthcare employer’s premises or in the home of a patient receiving home healthcare services. The record would be required to include:
- the name and address of the premises on which the incident occurred;
- the date, time, and location where the incident occurred;
- the name, job, and department or ward assignments of the employee who was affected;
- a description about the person who committed the assault as a patient, visitor, employee, or other category;
- a description of injuries like minor soreness, surface abrasions, scratches, bruises, severe lacerations, bone fracture, head injury, loss of limb, or death;
- a description of any weapon used;
- the number of employees, including nursing staff, in the immediate area of the assault when it occurred; and
- the actions employees and the healthcare employer took in response to the incident.
Next Steps
Oregon OSHA’s proposed rule reflects a growing trend toward comprehensive, prevention-focused workplace violence protections in healthcare settings. The department said that the proposed rule will “tentatively” be adopted in October 2026 and take effect in January 2027. While waiting for OSHA Oregon to finalize the regulatory guidance, employers may wish to audit their current program and conduct a gap analysis, prioritize compliance efforts, and develop an implementation timeline ahead of compliance deadlines.
Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Healthcare, Oregon, and Workplace Violence Prevention blogs as additional information becomes available.
Emma J. Redden is a shareholder in Ogletree Deakins’ Portland, OR, office.
Jacqueline M. Duvall is of counsel in Ogletree Deakins’ Kansas City, office.
Kenneth M. Rock is of counsel in Ogletree Deakins’ Portland, OR, office.
This article was co-authored by Leah J. Shepherd, who is a writer in Ogletree Deakins’ Washington, D.C., office.
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