S.1718, An Act requiring health care employers to develop and implement programs to prevent workplace violence may appear like its on the right track. However, there is a section of the bill that seeks to increase penalties against anyone who is seen as intentionally assaulting a healthcare work. This would include increasing the severity of some charges from misdemeanors to felonies. Perhaps that will seem like it also makes sense to some, particularly given the valid interest in preventing harm to health care workers. However, the bill doesn’t appear to consider a number of factors including whether or not a person is experiencing forced containment or drugging or may be in the midst of a trauma response to force or acting in self-defense. This leaves people with psychiatric histories particularly vulnerable to an array of harms up to and including ending up with a permanent criminal record that may interfere with future housing and employment, even in situations where they themselves may reasonably be seen as the victim. Other signors include the Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee (who has led much of the overall effort to develop the letter), as well as the Center for Public Representation, Disability Law Center, Committee for Public Counsel Services, Disability Policy Consortium, Massachusetts Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health. A summary of arguments includes: * Higher penalties will not protect health care workers, and focusing on them detracts from other more effective solutions. * Higher penalties may lead to legal and criminal involvement that will accomplish little more than getting in the way of more effective supports. * Higher penalties would put additional strain on the otherwise already strained legal and criminal systems without any clear benefit. * Increased penalties increase the power imbalance between staff and patients, thus increasing risk to people held in these facilities. * There are already significant penalties in place for assault of healthcare workers with no evidence that increasing those penalties would serve the intended purpose. * As aforementioned, felony charges would have long-term effects on someone’s ability to get housing, work, etc. * Even minor incidents could lead to disproportionately long sentences and other penalties. The bill currently sits with the Senate Ways & Means Committee. A House version of the bill has already passed the House. If S.1718 is reported out of the Senate Ways and Means, the two bills would be conferenced for a final version to be sent to the Governor for review before becoming law. |
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