Provides for certain victim statements to be taken at their workplace instead of the police department where such workplace was the scene of the crime and is a hospital, emergency medical facility, nursing home or residential health care facility.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6055A
SPONSOR: Woerner TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to providing for certain
victim statements to be taken at their workplace instead of the police
department
PURPOSE::
To permit health care workers who have been assaulted on the job to give
their statements to the police at their workplace.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1 would add a new subdivision 6 to section 642 of the executive
law. Section 2 would provide an effective date.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
The A print would amend section 1 to make technical changes to clarify
the intent.
JUSTIFICATION::
Emergency rooms are dangerous places to work. According to the New York
Times, 55% of ER physicians and 70% of ER nurses have been physically
assaulted, most often by patients, in the workplace. One third of such
assaults lead to physical injury. When the police are called to respond
to an assault in an emergency room, they generally ask the victim to
come to the police station for an interview after work. This discourages
crime reporting since many health care workers, who have stressful jobs
with long hours, decide not to follow up if an assault did not result in
a serious injury. This bill would allow the victim to choose to be
interviewed by the police at work rather than having to make a separate
trip to the police station to report the crime against them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE::
This bill shall take effect one twenty days after it shall have become a
law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6055--A
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 26, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, YEGER, BUTTENSCHON, ZINERMAN, McDONALD,
HAWLEY, DeSTEFANO, GIGLIO, SHIMSKY, GRIFFIN -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Codes -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to providing for certain
victim statements to be taken at their workplace instead of the police
department
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 642 of the executive law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 6 to read as follows:
3 6. A victim of an assault may choose to make their statement at their
4 workplace provided such workplace was the scene of the assault and is a
5 hospital, emergency medical facility, nursing home, or residential
6 health care facility as defined in section twenty-eight hundred one of
7 the public health law, or is a facility or hospital as defined in
8 section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law. Law enforcement officers shall
9 inform the victim of their right to have their statement be taken at
10 such workplace when officers have reason to believe the victim was
11 assaulted pursuant to section 120.05 of the penal law.
12 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
13 it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09400-02-5
