Relating to the protection of health care workers.
Summary
HB 2313 expands Oregon’s third-degree assault statute to specifically cover intentional, knowing, or reckless physical injury to a health care worker while the worker is performing official duties. The bill defines “health care worker” for this purpose to include nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, physicians, and physician associates. It also keeps the existing third-degree assault framework in place for other protected categories such as transit operators, emergency medical services providers, youth facility staff, taxi operators, flaggers, and highway workers.
In addition to the criminal-law change, the bill requires any employer of health care workers to develop and maintain a notification program for victims of assaults by convicted offenders. That program must include a database of convicted assailants and the associated victim, and a system to alert the victim if the convicted person enters the victim’s workplace or if the victim is assigned to a location where the person is likely to be present. The measure is aimed at workplace safety and victim awareness in health care settings.
Impact
The bill amends ORS 163.165, the statute defining assault in the third degree, by adding a new protected class of victims: health care workers acting in the course of official duty. Because third-degree assault is a Class C felony, the bill would expose offenders who assault covered health care workers to felony prosecution under Oregon law. It also creates a new employer obligation for health care entities to track convicted assailants and notify affected workers, affecting hospitals, clinics, and other employers of covered health care personnel.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented debate or recorded opposition in the materials provided. Based on the bill’s text, the measure appears to be framed as a worker-protection and workplace-safety bill, with a clear public-safety rationale. The overall tone of the proposal is protective and remedial rather than punitive beyond the existing felony classification.
Contention
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. Potential areas of debate, based on the bill itself, could include the scope of the new protected class, the burden on health care employers to maintain a conviction database and notification system, privacy concerns related to tracking offender and victim information, and whether the bill should extend to additional health care roles beyond those listed. However, none of these concerns are attributed to any person or group in the record provided.