Domestic Violence Employment Protections Bill Becomes Law in California! – continued from page 14
based on his or her known status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. The law also entitles victims to reasonable safety accommodations at the workplace.
Domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking can have a harmful effect on the ability of victims to maintain employment, jeopardizing a victim‘s safety and stable source of income. According to a recent study conducted by Legal Aid Society – Employment Law Center (LAS-ELC), nearly 40% of survivors were fired or feared termination due to domestic violence.
―On behalf of California‘s domestic violence advocates we want to thank Governor Brown for signing SB 400,‖ said Kathy Moore, interim executive director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. ―Both he and Senator Jackson should be commended for their leadership on this issue. The new law will ensure that domestic violence victims won‘t have to worry about job security as they struggle to rebuild their lives.‖
California joins six other states – Illinois, New York, Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon, and Rhode Island, as well as Puerto Rico – which have laws that protect victims from discrimination. Several of these laws also provide for safety-related accommodations.
Read more HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY NEWS Crime, Weapons in Hospitals are Top Priority for New IHSSF President
There were 154 shootings at U.S. hospitals in 40 states between 2000 and 2011. More recent statistics on crime and weapons in health-care facilities will be the subject of a pair of studies the International Healthcare Security and Safety Foundation will take on next year, according to incoming president Steve Nibbelink. The foundation will examine the number and type of weapons taken into hospitals and other health facilities, and look at crime statistics, to show what‘s trending in order to give senior security leaders information that will guide their plans and investments, said Nibbelink.
The non-profit philanthropic arm of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety, IHSSF supports the association through fundraising, networking and awards programs. It funds and conducts research to help develop guidelines and best practices for health-care and security professionals. ―The foundation‘s primary goal is to support health-care security leaders in the marketplace globally and part of that is doing research,‖ said Nibbelink, who takes over for outgoing president Ed Stedman. The challenge of healthcare security is to manage the flow of patients, visitors, staff and service people, creating a welcoming but secure environment, he said. IHSSF research provides data security professionals can rely on when they explain why they need more staff, more security or more money for their efforts.
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Workplace Violence Against ACT Paramedics, Firefighters New data reveals 74 incidents of workplace violence or serious injuries involving ACT emergency service workers over the past two years. Most incidents involved cuts, bruising and soft tissue injuries, but some involved mental stress from attending fatal car accidents, workplace bullying, and hospital treatment. Ben Sweaney from the Transport Workers Union believes there are many more incidents of workplace violence have not been reported. "This is really just the tip of the iceberg," Sweaney said. "There's a real fear in ambulance culture of reporting these types of incidents when it comes to workplace violence either for fear of retribution from managers or being labelled weak." He says the figures should sound alarm bells. "For the size of this jurisdiction especially, the instances where officers have claimed workplace violence and the ACT Ambulance Service has failed to foster a safe working environment," he continued. But Ambulance Service acting deputy chief Howard Wren says ambulance staff are encouraged and supported to report incidents of verbal and physical abuse. Wren says there were about 70,000 patient contacts during that time and the reported figures must be put in context. He says the Ambulance Service does all it can to protect its workers, but unfortunately some workplace violence is inevitable and it is not only related to patients who are intoxicated or on drugs.
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