Signed by Governor Jay Inslee

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that prohibits harassment, abuse, and discrimination towards long-term care workers.

Highlights:

• Defines "aggravated workplace violence," "aggravated violence," or "aggravated violent act" means assault or physically threatening behavior involving the use of a lethal weapon or a common object used as a lethal weapon, regardless of whether the use of a lethal weapon resulted in injury (Sec. 2-2).

• Defines "long-term care workers" as all persons who provide paid, hands-on personal care services for the elderly or persons with disabilities, including individual providers of home care services, direct care workers employed by home care agencies or a consumerdirected employer, and providers of home care services to persons with developmental disabilities (Sec. 2-11).

• Requires each covered employer to adopt and maintain a comprehensive written policy concerning how the covered employer shall address instances of discrimination, abusive conduct, and challenging behavior and work to resolve issues impacting the provision of personal care, and specifies that the covered employer must (Sec. 3-1):

• Disseminate the comprehensive written policy to each employee at the beginning of employment, annually, and on the issuance of any substantive update to the comprehensive written policy;

• Post the comprehensive written policy in prominent locations at its place of business and in a prominent location on its web site, such as an online payroll portal, if applicable;

• Provide employees with a copy of the current policy within 30 days of the employee's date of hire, and at least once a year thereafter;

• Make the policy available in plain English and in each of the 3 languages spoken most by long-term care workers in the state;

• Review and update the adopted policy annually; and

• Ensure that all employees are aware of the current policy and the changes from the previous policy.

• Requires covered employers to keep a record of any reported incidents of discrimination or abusive conduct experienced by an employee during the provision of paid personal care services. This includes descriptions of the followings acts (Sec. 6.f):

• Discrimination, including discriminatory harassment;

• Sexual harassment, inappropriate sexual behavior, or sexual contact;

• Physical sexual aggression;

• Rape or attempted rape;

• Workplace verbal aggression;

• Workplace violence;

• Workplace physical aggression; or

• Aggravated workplace violence.

• Requires the Department of Social and Health Services to convene a stakeholder working group to recommend policy changes and best practices for training employers, long-term care workers, and service recipients to keep home care settings free from discrimination and abusive conduct while maintaining the ability for individuals who need services to access needed services while maintaining the ability to provide services (Sec. 7-1).

Full Bill Text