Relating to the definition of facility for purposes of workplace violence prevention requirements.

Contracts

• Staffing Agency MSAs: Master Service Agreements with nursing registries or staffing agencies must be amended to define responsibility for workplace violence training. You must specify whether the agency or the facility provides the training and mandate that contract staff adhere to your facility’s reporting protocols.
• Security Vendors: Post orders for contracted security personnel must be updated to align with the specific de-escalation and response protocols defined in your new Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.

Hiring/Training

• Committee Formation: You must charter a Workplace Violence Prevention Committee immediately. This body cannot be comprised solely of management; the law mandates significant representation from direct-care employees.
• Mandatory Education: Workplace violence prevention training must be integrated into new hire orientation and annual continuing education competencies for all staff by Q2 2026.
• Whistleblower Protection: HR policies must be updated to explicitly prohibit retaliation against employees who report violent incidents, as Chapter 331 creates a specific cause of action for retaliation.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• The Plan: You must draft, adopt, and annually review a comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.
• Incident Logs: You must maintain a detailed, anonymized log of all violent incidents (physical force and credible threats).
• Committee Minutes: You must document committee meetings to prove to HHSC surveyors that direct-care staff are actively participating in policy review.

Fees & Costs

• Internal Costs: While there are no new state licensure fees, budget for increased administrative costs related to committee meeting time (non-billable hours) and training module procurement.
• Liability: Failure to adopt a plan exposes the facility to "negligence per se" claims in civil lawsuits regarding employee injury.