An Act Concerning The Recommendations Of The Working Group To Study Staff Safety Issues Affecting Home Health Care And Home Health Aide Agencies.
SB 1451 revises Connecticut law governing home health care agencies, home health aide agencies, and certain hospice agencies to address staff safety. The bill requires agencies, during intake of a prospective client, to collect and share with assigned employees, to the extent feasible and consistent with state and federal law, information relevant to worker safety. That includes a client’s history of violence toward health care workers, substance use, domestic abuse, psychiatric diagnoses and stability, and any relevant judicial records or sex offender registry information. It also requires agencies to provide information about the service location, such as local crime data, hazardous materials, firearms or other weapons, fire alarm status, and other safety hazards.
The bill also expands workplace safety training and reporting requirements. Agencies must adopt and implement a health and safety training curriculum for home care workers aligned with CDC/NIOSH and OSHA guidance, provide annual training, and hold monthly safety assessments with direct care staff. For agencies that receive reimbursement under the Connecticut medical assistance program, the Department of Social Services must require proof of this training or an approved alternative safety program as a condition of reimbursement. The commissioner may also provide a rate enhancement for timely reporting of workplace violence incidents.
In addition, the bill broadens incident reporting obligations. Home health care, home health aide, and hospice agencies must report instances of verbal abuse perceived as threatening, physical abuse, sexual abuse, or other abuse against staff, along with the actions taken to protect the worker. The reporting deadline is no later than seven calendar days after a workplace violence incident for purposes of the rate enhancement provision, and annual abuse reporting remains required under the amended statute. The bill takes effect October 1, 2025.
The overall sentiment appears strongly supportive, at least at the committee level, with the bill receiving a unanimous 32-0 Joint Favorable Substitute vote. The available record shows no recorded opposition in the vote tally and no committee transcript debate, suggesting broad agreement that the measure is a worker-safety response to risks faced by home care staff.
The main points of contention likely center on privacy, feasibility, and operational burden. The bill repeatedly limits disclosure to what is feasible and consistent with state and federal law, reflecting sensitivity to client privacy and information-sharing restrictions. Agencies and referring providers may also face challenges gathering accurate client histories, assessing neighborhood crime and home hazards, and implementing the required training and reporting systems, while the bill explicitly bars agencies from denying services solely because a client refuses to provide the requested information or because of the information collected.
The bill amends sections 19a-491f, 19a-491g, and 19a-491h of the Connecticut General Statutes to impose new safety-related intake, training, reporting, and reimbursement conditions on home health care agencies, home health aide agencies, and hospice agencies. It creates new duties to collect and share safety information, requires annual and monthly worker-safety training and assessments, authorizes Medicaid-related reimbursement conditions and possible rate enhancements, and expands mandatory reporting of abuse and workplace violence affecting staff. These changes primarily affect agencies, health care providers making referrals, the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Public Health.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan or at least committee-wide support, as reflected by the unanimous 32-0 Joint Favorable Substitute vote. The available materials do not show recorded opposition or substantive floor debate, but the structure of the bill suggests a policy consensus around improving worker safety in home-based care settings. The inclusion of privacy and feasibility qualifiers indicates an effort to balance safety concerns with client rights and practical implementation.
The likely areas of contention are the scope of information agencies must collect, how much of a client’s personal and medical history can be shared with workers, and whether the requirements are workable for agencies and referring providers. Privacy advocates may be concerned about disclosure of psychiatric history, substance use, domestic abuse, criminal records, and sex offender registry information, while providers may worry about liability or compliance burdens. Agencies may also question the practicality of obtaining accurate location-based safety data and meeting training and reporting obligations, though the bill attempts to reduce conflict by prohibiting service denial solely because a client refuses to provide information or because of the information gathered.