Oregon OSHA Proposes Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Standard
- Oregon OSHA has proposed a new health care workplace violence prevention standard standard, implementing Senate Bill 537, a 2025 law requiring healthcare employers to conduct periodic security and safety assessments, develop workplace violence prevention programs, and provide annual violence prevention training.
- The rule broadens the definition of workplace violence beyond physical assault to include threats, harassment, intimidation, homicide and other threatening behavior, and expands coverage beyond hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to include licensed home health agencies and home hospice programs. The rule would affect an estimated 62 hospitals, 91 surgical centers, 65 home health agencies, and 74 home hospice programs in Oregon.
- Covered employers would also need to investigate and report violence incidents, maintain, keep records of incidents and reports and comply with anti-retaliation protections for employees who report healthcare assaults.
- The proposal has drawn limited opposition, with the Oregon Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Oregon Medical Association raising concerns that mandatory employee training participation may go beyond what SB 537 actually required, since the underlying law was intended to require employers to offer training rather than mandate attendance.
Transit Safety Firm Overhauls OSHA Training Program for Maintenance Shops
- The Transit and Paratransit Company has replaced its 15-year-old OSHA Compliance Training Course with an updated program covering 26 OSHA standards applicable to transit and paratransit maintenance facilities, plus three additional areas specifically for drivers.
- TAPTCO President Jeff Cassell said the overhaul was driven by the age of the original materials and user feedback, and that the new course covers hazards including confined spaces, electrical risks, lifts, pits, jacks and stands, hazardous materials, personal protective equipment, fall protection, lockout/tagout, machine guarding, welding and wheel safety.
- Cassell said many shops fail to fully comply with OSHA requirements or make only token efforts until an incident occurs.
- All 26 safety programs can be delivered in four 75-minute sessions totaling five hours and should be provided to shop workers annually, with ongoing training and documentation remaining the biggest compliance challenges.
- Cassell emphasized that safety practices should apply consistently regardless of whether federal regulations technically exempt a given operation, since many states have similar rules and employee safety should be the standard regardless of regulatory requirements.
Landscaper Fatality Rate Climbs 60% Over Decade
- Landscaping has climbed into the ranks of the ten most dangerous jobs in U.S., with the fatal injury rate for grounds maintenance workers rising from 13 per 100,000 workers in 2014 to 21 per 100,000 in 2024.
- According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, grounds maintenance workers were most commonly killed while using tools or machinery to trim or cut down trees.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows fatalities were roughly evenly split between transportation incidents, falls, and contact with heavy equipment.
- Logging, fishing and hunting, roofing, ironwork, refuse collection, construction, mining, and truck driving round out the rest of the most dangerous jobs list, according to Money Geek analysis, with the deadliest specialized trades ranking highest by rate and road-related work accounting for the highest raw death counts.