Status: Enacted — Public Act 24-19 signed into law in 2024 (Connecticut General Assembly, Public Act No. 24-19, “An Act Concerning Various Revisions to the Public Health Statutes”). Workplace violence provisions effective October 1, 2024.

Bill Number: Connecticut Public Act 24-19 (originating in HB 5058 / SB 1, 2024 regular session)

Jurisdiction: Connecticut

Category: Healthcare Workplace Violence (Operational Mandate)

Industries: Healthcare, Behavioral Health, Home Health

Enacted Date: 2024 regular session

Effective Date: October 1, 2024

Summary: Connecticut Public Act 24-19 layers a state-level workplace violence prevention obligation on top of the federal accreditation regime by requiring hospitals, chronic disease hospitals, nursing homes, behavioral health facilities, multicare institutions, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities that receive Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CMAP) reimbursement to adopt and implement workplace violence prevention standards consistent with the Joint Commission’s standards (or any applicable certification or accreditation agency). The statute also imposes new obligations on home health aide agencies (other than licensed hospice organizations) to collect and share client violence and substance-abuse history with healthcare workers, conduct monthly safety assessments with direct care staff, and report incidents of abuse or threats to the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH).

By tying the operational obligation to the Joint Commission’s NPG 2a framework, Connecticut effectively converts a federal accreditation requirement into a state licensure requirement enforceable through CMAP reimbursement and DPH oversight. Connecticut joins a growing cohort of states — including New York, Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, Texas, and California — that have moved beyond federal OSHA general duty enforcement to impose specific written workplace violence prevention plan obligations on healthcare employers.

Key Provisions:

Joint Commission-Aligned Standard: Covered facilities must adopt and implement workplace violence prevention standards consistent with the Joint Commission’s standards or any other applicable certification or accreditation agency.
Covered Facilities: Hospitals, chronic disease hospitals, nursing homes, behavioral health facilities, multicare institutions, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities receiving CMAP reimbursement.
Home Health Aide Provisions: Home health aide agencies must collect and share client violence, domestic abuse, and substance abuse history with healthcare workers; conduct monthly safety assessments with direct care staff; and report incidents of abuse or threats to DPH.
Reporting Cadence: Health care employers may file required workplace violence incident reports by February 1 each year (rather than January 1).
Enforcement Hook: Compliance is tied to CMAP reimbursement eligibility and DPH licensure oversight rather than a separate penalty schedule.

Affected Entities: All Connecticut hospitals, chronic disease hospitals, nursing homes, behavioral health facilities, multicare institutions, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities that participate in CMAP, plus home health aide agencies operating in Connecticut. The Joint Commission alignment effectively brings any Joint Commission-accredited Connecticut hospital into a single, state-enforceable framework.

Penalties and Enforcement: Enforcement runs through CMAP reimbursement eligibility and DPH licensure oversight. Failure to maintain compliant prevention standards exposes a covered facility to licensure action, conditions on reimbursement, and the federal accreditation consequences that flow from a Joint Commission survey finding.

IntelliSee Relevance: High — Public Act 24-19 expressly aligns Connecticut’s state-level mandate with the Joint Commission’s NPG 2a workplace violence prevention framework, which is heavily document-driven. NPG 2a expects covered hospitals to maintain a written prevention plan, conduct annual worksite analyses, train staff, and operate a reporting and post-incident review process. IntelliSee’s AI-powered continuous monitoring of existing camera infrastructure — including AI weapon detection, fall detection, and aggressive-behavior detection — produces the time-stamped, location-tagged incident records and worksite-analysis evidence that Joint Commission surveyors and Connecticut DPH inspectors expect to see in a NPG 2a-aligned program.

Connecticut Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention (Public Act 24-19)

Related Legislation & Resources

Turn Legislative Mandates Into a Working Safety Program