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As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.
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Recommendation: To help determine whether current efforts are effective or if additional action may be needed, such as development of a workplace violence prevention standard for health care employers, the Secretary of Labor should direct the Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health to develop and implement cost-effective ways to assess the results of the agency's efforts to address workplace violence.
Agency: Department of Labor Status: Open Priority recommendation
Comments: According to OSHA officials, the agency had a study underway to review OSHA's workplace violence enforcement cases in health care to better understand the obstacles OSHA compliance officers encountered during these investigations and identify factors which led to citations. The study was intended to help compliance officers develop citations in workplace violence cases. In addition, in December 2016, OSHA published a Request for Information on Preventing Workplace Violence in Healthcare and Social Assistance (RFI) to help identify workplace violence prevention requirements that could be effective and economical if a regulation were to be developed. OSHA reported in June 2018 that it is evaluating the information it received in response to the RFI and is gathering information on best practices in certain industries. As of April 2020, OSHA completed its review of the submissions in response to the RFI, is developing regulatory options, and will obtain additional input from potentially affected small businesses. The agency anticipates completing this process by the end of 2020. To fully implement this recommendation, the agency should complete its process of obtaining input on the regulatory options the agency is developing, and finalize its determination on whether regulatory action is needed.
