In December 2025 New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the New York State Workplace Violence Prevention Bill, following a year of advocacy and coalition-building by the New York State ENA and New York ACEP.
“Momentum began with the first-ever New York City ENA Legislative Summit, a landmark event dedicated entirely to policy engagement,” said NYSENA Government Affairs Committee Chairperson Jonathan Nover, MBA, RN. “I witnessed firsthand how deliberate, organized advocacy can move legislation.” The summit included insights from ENA Director of Government Relations Rob Kramer and Marilyn Dollinger, past president of the American Nurses Association – New York, helping nurses prepare to translate their lived clinical experience into legislative influence.
“The message was clear: Policy shapes practice, and nurses must lead both,” Nover said.
In addition to participating in ENA’s Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C., NYESNA maintained a visible and consistent presence in Albany during Workplace Violence Prevention Month, he said. Members Diana Rodriguez and Louis Calderon, along with members of the New York ACEP chapter, addressed the state senate and state assembly with bill sponsors Sen. Luis Sepúlveda and Assembly Member Catalina Cruz to push for passage of S.5294B and A.203B.
Meanwhile, NYSENA, with the guidance from 2025 NYSENA President Wendy Allen-Thompson, strengthened its coalition, as other nursing organizations around the state submitted memorandums of support and hundreds of constituents responded to statewide electronic action alerts.
The new law requires risk assessments, prevention planning with front-line staff, support for affected workers, standardized reporting and strengthened security measures. In many cases, that means an off-duty police presence is required in the ED or the hospital.
“The Workplace Violence Prevention Bill shifts health care systems from reactive responses to proactive accountability,” Nover said. “It reflects solutions informed by those who live this reality every day.”
No Silence on ED Violence 