A major legislative priority for union members came to fruition during the 2026 session of the Connecticut General Assembly. Moving forward, any healthcare or education professional assaulted in the line of duty will be guaranteed full wage replacement. Following months of testimony at legislative hearings and targeted advocacy with lawmakers, labor activists secured bipartisan support for passage and the governor’s signature of the historic measure into law.
Speaking at the bill-signing ceremony earlier this month, AFT Connecticut Vice President John Brady, RN (pictured above, far right in the third row) shared a compelling personal story highlighting the harsh realities of workplace violence. He recounted a harrowing incident from his time working at a hospital, where he was monitoring a psychiatric patient who attempted suicide.
“I got the noose off his neck, and at that point, he placed me in a headlock,” Brady said. “I was lucky because security got there in time to pull him off me. This assault was so common that my treatment that day was to be given enough time to have a coffee before returning to work. Yet, I’ll still dream about it occasionally 30 years later.”
Closing a Long-Standing Loophole
The new statute establishes robust new protections for workers assaulted on the job. Private healthcare employers, as well as UConn Health, local school boards and state higher education institutions must cover all financial costs – within the workers compensation system – stemming from workplace violence. It additionally mandates paid leave – ensuring workers can attend necessary court proceedings without being forced to use their own accrued time – and allows victims to sue for financial loss.
Prior to this legislation, educators who were assaulted had to sue in State Court and faced a high burden of proof, resulting in many educators not pursuing their rights. By closing the loophole with a broader definition of an assault, expanding the protections to healthcare workers and moving the claims to workers compensation, employees now have real accessible workplace protections from assaults.
During powerful, emotional testimony before the legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee in March, union leaders and activists urged lawmakers to act, linking unsafe conditions directly to ongoing workforce shortages.
“Unchecked hostility and violence is a huge factor for nurses leaving the workplace and experiencing moral injury,” said Vix Lyons, RN, president of our affiliated Meriden Federation of School-Based Registered Nurses. “When healthcare workers are being violated and feel unsafe, it impacts the whole system. Knowing that you are unprotected and vulnerable to attacks from your patients and their families is distressing and places undue stress on healthcare workers.”
A Growing Crisis in Healthcare and Education
Healthcare professionals – including nurses, physicians, social workers, registrars, and environmental services staff – experience workplace assaults at five times the rate of workers in other industries. Nearly every healthcare worker has encountered violent behavior in the course of their duties, ranging from being spit on and kicked to facing life-threatening attacks.
“I can speak from personal experience that violence against healthcare workers is rising in our state,” said Sara Bustamante, RN, a member of our L&M Federation of Registered Professional Nurses. “I was viciously assaulted by one of my patients while at work. I spent nearly a month at home recuperating and though I am now back at work, it is with new, unrelenting anxiety that I just can’t seem to shake.”
The newly signed measure extends identical protections to teachers, paraeducators, and school-related personnel in public K-12 schools, as well as faculty and staff at public colleges and universities. Nationally, the average rate of workplace assault for school teachers is double the average rate across all other occupations combined.
“Educators injured at work deserve full compensation and fair treatment, and they should not be subject to lost sick time or wages,” said Leslie Blatteau, president of our New Haven Federation of Teachers. “At a time when fewer college graduates are considering joining our profession and more of our colleagues are resigning or retiring early, these protections are essential to retaining dedicated educators.”
The Push for Safer Workplaces Continues
While this law represents a monumental step forward, union leaders emphasize that solving retention and workforce shortages requires improving day-to-day workplace conditions in the first place. Whether in a hospital emergency department, a school lunchroom, or a campus dormitory, unsafe staffing levels leave educators and caregivers acutely vulnerable to violence.
The workplace assault compensation provisions of the new law officially take effect on October 1, 2026. At that time, any covered individual who is physically or negligently assaulted while performing their duties will receive 100% of their average weekly earnings throughout their recovery period.
