What Happened?

As a reminder for all healthcare employers with employees in Washington, the Legislature enacted a law to strengthen workplace‑violence prevention in health care. The law amends chapter 49.19 of the Revised Code of Washington, requires timely investigations of every incident, and mandates regular summaries to safety committees.

The law applies to all healthcare employers in Washington and took effect on January 1, 2026.

Overview

Scope: House Bill 1162 (Chapter 303, Laws of 2025) amends RCW 49.19.020 and adds a new section to chapter 49.19 for healthcare settings.

Who is covered: Each healthcare setting must maintain a workplaceviolence prevention plan and comply with the new investigation and reporting requirements.

Plan requirements:

• Physical security and emergency response;
• Staffing patterns and mitigation of time worked alone in high‑risk areas;
• Job design, equipment, and facilities;
• First aid;
• Incident reporting;
• Training and implementation;
• Risks in areas with uncontrolled access; late‑night/early‑morning shifts, and employee parking; and
• Processes to support employees affected by violence.
• When developing or updating the plan, consider guidance from the Washington State Department of Health (WDOH), the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (WSDHS), the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (WL&I), the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Medicare, and health care accrediting organizations, along with the findings from your incident summaries.

Committee governance: If an employers has a safety committee (or a workplace violence committee with employee‑elected members equal to or exceeding employer‑selected members), that committee must develop, implement, and monitor the plan.

Annual update cadence: Conduct a comprehensive review and update of the plan at least annually.

Investigate every incident: Perform a timely investigation of each workplace violence incident, covering:

(a) incident details;
(b) the response and remediation; and
(c) if applicable, actual versus planned staffing at the time of the incident.

Internal summaries to the committee (frequency rules): Provide de‑identified summaries with incident data and investigation findings, analysis of systemic or common‑causes, and recommendations to adjust the plan or practices. Submit on the following schedule:

• At least twice per year for critical access hospitals, hospitals with fewer than 25 acute‑care beds, certain sole community hospitals outside multi‑hospital systems, and a hospital on an island within a Skagit County public hospital district
• At least quarterly for all other health‑care settings

Privacy safeguard: These summaries must be de‑identified and may not override any law that limits disclosure of personally identifiable information.

Why This Matters

• The law adds specific, recurring duties (timely investigations, annual plan updates, scheduled committee summaries) that require operational discipline and documentation.

• It expects root‑cause analysis (systemic or common causes) and plan adjustments based on findings, not just recordkeeping

• Leadership and committees now have clear accountability for maintaining safe environments and supporting affected employees.

Key Risks for Employers

• Missed timelines for incident investigations, annual plan updates, or committee summaries.

• Insufficient content in the plan (e.g., not covering parking areas, lone‑work mitigation, or employee‑support processes).

• Incorrect committee structure (employee representation below the required threshold) or failure of the committee to monitor progress.

• Privacy missteps (failing to de‑identify summaries as required).

What Employers need to do

1. Keep a compliant, annually updated workplace violence plan

• What to do: Maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan for each covered health care setting that meets RCW 49.19 requirements and update it at least annually using current guidance and incident findings.

• How to implement: Consolidate existing policies into a single plan that addresses all required risk areas (e.g., physical security, staffing, lone work, parking, employee support) and put an annual review/update on your safety or committee calendar tied to incident trends.

2. Use your committee to own and monitor the plan

• What to do: Have your safety committee—or a workplace violence committee with the required employee representation—develop, implement, and monitor the workplace violence prevention plan.

• How to implement: Confirm the committee’s structure meets legal requirements, then update its charter and agendas so workplace violence prevention, plan review, and follow‑up on recommendations are standing items.

3. Investigate every incident and report de‑identified trends on a set schedule

• What to do: Timely investigate every workplace violence incident and provide de‑identified summaries with data, findings, systemic/common cause analysis, and recommendations to the committee at least twice a year for certain small/critical‑access hospitals and at least quarterly for all other health care settings.

• How to implement: Use a standard investigation form and tracking log, then generate scheduled de‑identified summary reports for the committee, ensuring personally identifiable information is removed and any plan changes are documented.

Source References:

• Washington HB 1162 – Concerning workplace violence in health care settings

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