(Washington, DC) – Today, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted in favor of H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, a bill she co-sponsored, that requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care and social services. The bill passed the House with bipartisan support, 251 to 158.

Health care and social service workers are four times as likely to suffer a serious workplace violence injury than workers in other sectors. The violence these employees face can effect their mental health, safety, and overall productivity. H.R. 1309 requires the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and issue violence prevention plans in hospitals, treatment facilities, clinics, and other service facilities and provide whistleblower protections for workers.

“Health care and social workers face long hours to care for our loved ones and, unfortunately, the requirements of the job may leave them vulnerable to violence,” said Congresswoman Fletcher. “Today, we passed H.R. 1309 to offer critical protections for the health care workers who are essential in our communities.”

Congresswoman Fletcher is a member of the New Democrat Coalition Task Force on Health Care. She is the representative for Texas’ Seventh Congressional District in Houston, near Texas Medical Center, the largest medical complex in the world. Houston is home to more than 360,000 health care workers.

H.R. 1309 has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, American Nurses Association, National Association of Social Workers, American Federation of Government Employees, American Public Health Association, and many others.