SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares the following:(a) As of February 9, 2021, local health departments in California have reported 89,841 confirmed positive novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) cases in nurses and health care workers. This data is collected daily and the number of infected nurses and health care workers continues to climb exponentially. This figure includes on-the-job exposures. However, this figure does not include the immeasurable number of asymptomatic nurses and health care workers who are currently working every day, lack personal protective equipment, and also lack the priority testing that should be conducted for health care
workers, given they are essential workers.
(b) Frontline nurses treating patients with COVID-19 are likely exposed to the highest risk of infection because of their close, frequent contact with patients and longer-than-usual working hours. By the nature of their profession, health care workers in California are in daily danger of direct exposure to all infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
(c) According to the United States Department of Labor, health care is one of the fastest growing sectors, currently employing 20 million people, and is expected to add more jobs than any other occupational group. Women represent nearly 80 percent of the health care workforce.
(d) Registered nurses constitute the largest
occupation within the health care sector and number over 2,500,000, of which 70 percent are employed in hospitals. Nearly 90 percent of registered nurses are women.
(e) Workers’ compensation was created to ensure that workers who are injured or become ill due to work are promptly and fully cared for and that employers are held responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy work environment. Certain occupations have significantly increased exposure or susceptibility to particular work-related injuries or illnesses that can be recognized, and at least partially remedied, through guaranteed access to the workers’ compensation system.
(f) In California and many other states, a number of injuries and illnesses are already presumed work-related, and therefore eligible for
workers’ compensation benefits, for firefighters, police officers, first responders, and other categories of workers. These professions predominantly employ men. According to the United States Department of Labor, 3 out of 4 Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and paramedics are men, 7 out of 8 police officers are men, and 19 out of 20 firefighters are men.
(g) According to the United States Department of Labor, 9 out of 10 registered nurses are women. Registered nurses working in a hospital treat the same patients that first responders, firefighters, and police officers treat.
(h) In California, women earn 89 cents for every dollar earned by a man, according to the United States Census Bureau. Given this persistent wage gap and the additional caregiving burden that women often
bear, guaranteeing access to workers’ compensation for nurses, of whom nearly 90 percent are women, will aid in addressing economic and social gender inequality.
(i) By the nature of their profession, health care workers are in constant danger of being directly exposed to many hazards, including infectious diseases, carcinogens, ergonomic hazards, and traumatic events, and indirectly exposed through contact with various pieces of equipment, chemicals, and clothing.
(j) Registered nurses have significantly more exposure to infectious diseases, including bloodborne pathogens, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), tuberculosis, and meningitis, than other workers. According to the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, 1 out of every 100 inpatient stays in California
involved MRSA. In addition, the incidence of tuberculosis in California was significantly higher than the national average, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
(k) Registered nurses experience more work-related injuries and illnesses than workers overall in the United States, including 43 percent more musculoskeletal disorders, over 10 percent more injuries and illnesses of all kinds, and 131 percent more injuries from workplace violence.
(l) Registered nurses encounter a variety of carcinogenic exposures in the course of doing their jobs. Antineoplastic and other hazardous drugs are administered by registered nurses. While these drugs are life-saving treatments for patients, they are hazardous and can cause cancer. Studies have documented the wide-ranging
contamination of the workplace that occurs when antineoplastic drugs and other hazardous drugs are handled and administered. Registered nurses are exposed in the course of doing their jobs to these cancer-causing chemicals. Additionally, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has determined that some anesthetic gases are carcinogenic hazards to registered nurses and other health care workers. Furthermore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently determined that night shift work is “probably carcinogenic to humans,” the second highest level of evidence of carcinogenicity.
(m) Registered nurses provide hands-on, direct patient care, which often requires physically assisting, moving, and repositioning patients. Many studies have documented the high rates of musculoskeletal disorders that occur among
nurses. In crafting a regulation, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health has deemed musculoskeletal disorders and related injuries a significant hazard specifically encountered by health care workers.
(n) Registered nurses encounter many traumatic events in the course of providing care to patients, including workplace violence and threats, active shooter incidents, traumatic patient deaths, repeated exposure to patients’ trauma, and other events. A landmark study found that 22 percent of nurses had symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. This excess stress and trauma must be recognized and addressed as an occupational hazard in nursing.
(o) The Nurses’ Health Study found that frequent use of disinfectants is associated with a significantly increased risk for chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease and for poor asthma control.
(p) Because health care workers have significantly increased exposure or susceptibility to particular work-related injuries or illnesses, it is appropriate to protect them by guaranteeing access to the workers’ compensation system.