OSHA, Bergen Regional Medical Center Agree On Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

PARAMUS, NJ — Bergen Regional Medical Center has reached an agreement to take steps to end workplace violence following an investigation that revealed its employees were exposed to hazardous conditions associated with workplace violence, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Thursday.

The settlement stems from the department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)notifying the hospital in 2014 that it had not implemented, or even developed, adequate safeguards to protect workers from assaults.

OSHA provided the hospital with a framework to protect employees, but an inspection in February 2015 found the hospital's workplace violence program to be "inadequate" and that workplace violence still had not been "effectively" addressed, the agency said.

As part of the settlement, the hospital must improve its health care workplace violence prevention program and OSHA must verify that the improvements are made.

The hospital will have a committee specifically for workplace violence prevention, which will include involvement from union workers and employees. The committee will identify workplace hazards, how to prevent workplace violence, report and review incidents of workplace violence, among other initiatives.

"This settlement holds Bergen Regional Medical Center L.P. accountable for ensuring it has an effective workplace violence prevention program that makes employee safety and health paramount,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA regional administrator in New York.

The hospital must also consent to OSHA inspections and continue to comply with the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The act requires employers to provide safe and healthy workplaces for their employees.

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