This bill establishes legal protections for doctors, nurses, and other health care practitioners who speak up about patient safety problems at hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other medical facilities. The law prohibits these facilities from retaliating against workers who report safety concerns—such as inadequate staffing, unsafe conditions, or poor quality care—to supervisors, government agencies, patient safety organizations, or the media. Health care practitioners who face retaliation can sue for actual damages, attorney fees, and punitive damages up to $1 million in individual cases, or larger amounts in class actions affecting multiple workers. The bill also requires Medicare-participating providers to establish anonymous reporting systems and investigation processes for patient safety concerns, effective one year after enactment. Additionally, the law voids employment contracts that prevent workers from speaking truthfully about health care quality and releases whistleblowers from non-compete agreements related to their work at the facility in question.
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