Utah Requires Hospital Workplace Violence Reporting

On March 18, 2026, Governor Spencer Cox signed Utah House Bill 380 (HB 380), Hospital Workplace Violence Reporting Requirements, which creates new workplace violence tracking, reporting, and recordkeeping obligations for hospitals operating in Utah.

The law requires covered hospitals to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system, adopt an anti-retaliation policy, use collected data to improve prevention efforts, and provide workplace violence reports to both hospital leadership and the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

This update applies to general acute hospitals and specialty hospitals as defined under Utah law. The law took effect on May 6, 2026. Hospitals must fully comply with the new requirements by November 1, 2026.

What Employers Should Do

Legal Requirements

• Establish and maintain a workplace violence incident reporting system that captures the information required by law and is accessible to employees.
• Communicate the reporting process to employees, including during new-hire orientation, and provide guidance regarding internal reporting, security escalation, and law-enforcement notification.
• Adopt and maintain an anti-retaliation policy that prohibits discrimination or retaliation against employees who report workplace violence incidents or participate in investigations.
• Use workplace violence data to support prevention efforts, provide required quarterly reports to hospital leadership, maintain incident records for at least two years, and submit annual incident totals to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Practical Considerations

• Review incident-reporting procedures and intake forms to ensure all required data elements are captured consistently.
• Establish a standardized process for preparing and delivering quarterly workplace violence reports to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO).
• Update employee handbooks, orientation materials, and internal communications to describe reporting procedures and anti-retaliation protections.
• Coordinate Human Resources (HR), security, risk management, compliance, and clinical leadership teams to align internal escalation and law-enforcement notification procedures.
• Evaluate whether a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) or Administrative Services Organization (ASO) could assist with policy administration, employee communications, training coordination, and recordkeeping obligations.

Overview

Workplace Violence Reporting System Requirements

• Hospitals must establish a formal workplace violence incident reporting system and record workplace violence incidents reported voluntarily by employees.
• The reporting system must be clearly communicated to employees and incorporated into new-hire orientation programs.
• Hospitals must provide guidance regarding when incidents should be reported internally, escalated to security personnel, or reported to law enforcement.

Required Incident Data: Each reported incident must include:

• The date and time of the incident.
• A description of the incident.
• The job category of affected employees.
• Whether the perpetrator was a patient, visitor, or another employee.
• The immediate response taken.
• Any long-term responses, corrective actions, or policy changes resulting from the incident.

Anti-Retaliation Protections: Hospitals must adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination or retaliation against employees who report workplace violence incidents or participate in related investigations.

Administration and Reporting Requirements

• Workplace violence data must be used to support prevention efforts, including continuing education, de-escalation training, risk identification, and violence-prevention planning.
• Beginning November 1, 2026, hospitals must provide workplace violence data quarterly to the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO).
• Hospitals must maintain workplace violence incident records for at least two years.
• Hospitals must annually report the number of workplace violence incidents occurring during the reporting period to DHHS. The law requires annual incident totals, not submission of every individual incident report.

Definition of Workplace Violence: HB 380 does not create a new standalone definition of workplace violence. Instead, the law adopts the definition already established elsewhere in Utah law.

Why This Matters

The law establishes a formal framework for tracking, reviewing, and responding to workplace violence incidents in Utah hospitals. Although the law primarily focuses on reporting, recordkeeping, and prevention rather than mandating specific training programs, hospitals must actively use collected data to strengthen workplace violence prevention efforts. The quarterly reporting obligation to hospital leadership and annual reporting obligation to DHHS also increase organizational and regulatory visibility into workplace violence trends.

Key Risks for Employers

• Failure to establish a compliant reporting system, maintain required records, or submit required reports may create compliance concerns during licensing reviews, inspections, or complaint investigations.

• Because hospitals are licensed and regulated by DHHS, noncompliance with statutory requirements may be considered during oversight activities and enforcement proceedings.

• Violations of applicable DHHS requirements or directives may result in penalties, corrective-action requirements, increased monitoring, licensing restrictions, or other regulatory consequences where authorized by law.

• Adverse action against employees who report workplace violence incidents or participate in investigations may create risk under the required anti-retaliation policy and may attract additional regulatory scrutiny.

Source References

• Utah HB 380 – Hospital Workplace Violence Reporting Requirements

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