Status: Enacted — Signed by Governor Phil Murphy on May 8, 2023, as P.L. 2023, c. 49. Layered on top of the New Jersey Prevention of Violence in Healthcare Facilities Act (codified at N.J.S.A. 26:2H-5.17 through 26:2H-5.21, enacted 2008; regulations promulgated 2011).

Bill Number: NJ A4520 / S2491 (220th Legislature); enacted as P.L. 2023, c. 49

Jurisdiction: New Jersey

Category: Healthcare Workplace Violence (Criminal Deterrence)

Industries: Healthcare

Enacted Date: May 8, 2023

Effective Date: May 8, 2023 (enactment); criminal penalty enhancements applied prospectively

Summary: The Health Care Heroes Violence Prevention Act elevates criminal penalties for assaults, threats, and intimidation directed at healthcare workers in New Jersey. The statute makes it a third- or fourth-degree offense (depending on injury and conduct) to knowingly assault or threaten a healthcare worker performing duties at a healthcare facility, and creates a separate offense for intentionally threatening to inflict harm on a healthcare worker because of the worker’s status. The Act complements New Jersey’s existing prevention-program statute — the Prevention of Violence in Healthcare Facilities Act (N.J.S.A. 26:2H-5.17 through 26:2H-5.21), which has required New Jersey hospitals, nursing homes, state and county psychiatric hospitals, and developmental centers to maintain a violence prevention program, conduct violence risk assessments, train employees, and operate an incident reporting system since 2008, with implementing regulations finalized in 2011.

Together, the 2008 prevention statute and the 2023 Health Care Heroes Act make New Jersey one of the more comprehensive state frameworks for healthcare workplace violence: an operational mandate (prevention plan, training, reporting) plus a criminal-deterrence layer (elevated penalties for assaults on healthcare workers). The 2023 Act fills the same deterrence role at the state level that the federal Save Healthcare Workers Act (H.R. 3178 / S. 1600) is intended to fill at the national level, and parallels Indiana HEA 1021 (2023) and Texas SB 840 (2023).

Key Provisions:

Elevated Assault Penalties: Assault on a healthcare worker performing duties at a healthcare facility is graded as a third- or fourth-degree crime, depending on conduct and injury, replacing the lesser disorderly persons charge that would otherwise apply.
Threat / Intimidation Offense: Intentionally threatening to inflict harm on a healthcare worker because of the worker’s status is a separate criminal offense.
Healthcare Worker Definition: The Act applies to a broad set of healthcare workers, including physicians, nurses, technicians, support staff, and others who perform duties at a healthcare facility.
Operates Alongside the 2008 Prevention Statute: The Act does not replace the existing N.J.S.A. 26:2H-5.17–26:2H-5.21 prevention-program obligations; New Jersey healthcare facilities must continue to maintain a written violence prevention program, conduct risk assessments, train employees, and operate an incident reporting system under the earlier statute and its 2011 regulations.

Affected Entities: All New Jersey hospitals, nursing homes, State and county psychiatric hospitals, and developmental centers covered by the 2008 prevention statute, plus the broader set of healthcare workers protected under the Act’s expanded definition. The criminal penalty layer applies wherever a covered worker is performing healthcare duties.

Penalties and Enforcement: Criminal enforcement is administered through county prosecutors and the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office. The underlying prevention-program obligations remain enforceable through New Jersey Department of Health licensure oversight under N.J.S.A. 26:2H.

IntelliSee Relevance: High — New Jersey’s combined framework imposes both an operational prevention obligation and a criminal-deterrence overlay. Both layers turn on contemporaneous evidence: the prevention program needs documented hazards and incident records to satisfy the 2008 statute and its 2011 regulations, and felony prosecutions under the 2023 Health Care Heroes Act turn on the time, location, and conduct of the assailant. IntelliSee’s AI-powered continuous monitoring — including AI weapon detection, fall detection, and aggressive-behavior detection — produces time-stamped, location-tagged records that strengthen the violence prevention program documentation New Jersey hospitals must maintain and the evidentiary record any criminal prosecution under the 2023 Act will require.

New Jersey Health Care Heroes Violence Prevention Act (P.L. 2023, c. 49)

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