LRB-2986/3
GMM:jlg:km
1999 - 2000 LEGISLATURE
January 25, 2000 - Introduced by Senators Robson, Moore, Burke, Rosenzweig,
Plache and Rude, cosponsored by Representatives Musser, Berceau and
Seratti. Referred to Committee on Human Services and Aging.
SB337,1,6
1An Act to amend 101.055 (5) (e); and
to create 101.055 (2) (ad), 101.055 (2) (ag),
2101.055 (2) (aj), 101.055 (2) (am), 101.055 (2) (at), 101.055 (2) (e), 101.055 (2)
3(f), 101.055 (3) (cm) and 101.055 (7) (bm) of the statutes;
relating to:
4occupational exposure of public employes to blood and other material
5potentially containing blood-borne pathogens and granting rule-making
6authority.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law, the department of commerce is required to adopt, by
administrative rule, standards to protect the health and safety of employes of the
state, of any agency of the state or of any political subdivision of the state (public
employes) that provide protection at least equal to the protection provided to private
sector employes under standards promulgated by the federal occupational safety and
health administration (OSHA). Currently, the standards promulgated by OSHA
include standards to prevent exposure to blood-borne pathogens, such as hepatitis
B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus, but those standards
do not require the use of needleless systems or sharps, that is, objects that can
penetrate the skin, with engineered sharps injury protection.
This bill requires the department of commerce to adopt standards governing
occupational exposure of public employes to blood and other materials potentially
containing blood-borne pathogens and to include in those standards a requirement
that the state, any agency of the state and any political subdivision of the state
(public employer) employing a public employe in an occupation in which the public
employe is at risk of occupational exposure to blood or other materials potentially
containing blood-borne pathogens due to a sharps injury provide needleless systems
and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection for use in all medical
procedures conducted by the public employer or in the place of employment of the
public employer, except when an evaluation committee established by the public
employer, at least half the members of which are front-line health care workers,
determines that use of a needleless system or a sharp with engineered sharps injury
protection will jeopardize patient or employe safety with regard to a specific medical
procedure. Prior to October 1, 2003, however, those standards may not prohibit the
use of a prefilled syringe that is approved by the federal food and drug
administration.
The bill also requires the department of commerce, in adopting those
standards, to consider including additional requirements to prevent or mitigate
sharps injuries and other exposures to blood or other materials potentially
containing blood-borne pathogens. Those additional requirements may include
training and educational requirements, requirements relating to the strategic
placement of sharps containers as close to the work area as practicable and measures
to encourage public employes to use personal protective equipment when handling
blood or other materials potentially containing blood-borne pathogens and to receive
vaccinations against blood-borne pathogens. Finally, the bill requires a public
employer employing a public employe in an occupation in which the public employe
is at risk of occupational exposure to blood or other materials potentially containing
blood-borne pathogens due to a sharps injury to maintain a sharps injury log and
to make reports of all sharps injuries to the department of commerce at time
intervals specified by rule of that department.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB337, s. 1
1Section
1. 101.055 (2) (ad) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,2,42
101.055
(2) (ad) "Blood-borne pathogen" means a pathogenic microorganism
3that is present in human blood and that can cause disease in humans, including
4hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus.
SB337, s. 2
5Section
2. 101.055 (2) (ag) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,3,2
1101.055
(2) (ag) "Engineered sharps injury protection" means any of the
2following:
SB337,3,73
1. A physical attribute that is built into a needle device used for withdrawing
4bodily fluids, accessing a vein or artery, administering medication or any other fluid
5or performing any other procedure involving the potential for an exposure incident
6and that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident by use of such
7mechanisms as barrier creation, blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal or retraction.
SB337,3,98
2. A physical attribute that is built into any other type of needle device, or into
9a nonneedle sharp, that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
SB337, s. 3
10Section
3. 101.055 (2) (aj) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,3,1211
101.055
(2) (aj) "Exposure incident" means a specific contact with blood or other
12material potentially containing blood-borne pathogens.
SB337, s. 4
13Section
4. 101.055 (2) (am) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,3,1714
101.055
(2) (am) "Front-line health care worker" means a nonmanagerial
15public employe who is responsible for direct patient care and who is at risk of
16occupational exposure to blood or other materials potentially containing blood-borne
17pathogens due to a sharps injury.
SB337, s. 5
18Section
5. 101.055 (2) (at) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,3,2219
101.055
(2) (at) "Needleless system" means a device that does not use a needle
20for withdrawing body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established,
21administering medication or any other fluid or performing any other procedure
22involving the potential for an exposure incident.
SB337, s. 6
23Section
6. 101.055 (2) (e) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,4,324
101.055
(2) (e) "Sharp" means any object used or encountered in a health care
25setting that can be reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin or any other part of
1the body and to result in an exposure incident, including broken glass; a needle
2device, scalpel, lancet, drill, bur, dental knife or broken capillary tube; or the exposed
3end of a dental wire.
SB337, s. 7
4Section
7. 101.055 (2) (f) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,4,65
101.055
(2) (f) "Sharps injury" means any injury caused by a sharp, including
6a cut, abrasion or a needle stick.
SB337, s. 8
7Section
8. 101.055 (3) (cm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,4,218
101.055
(3) (cm) 1. The standards adopted by the department shall include
9standards governing occupational exposure of public employes to blood and other
10materials potentially containing blood-borne pathogens. Those standards shall
11require any public employer employing a public employe in an occupation in which
12the public employe is at risk of occupational exposure to blood or other materials
13potentially containing blood-borne pathogens due to a sharps injury to provide
14needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection for use in
15all medical procedures conducted by the public employer or in the place of
16employment of the public employer, except when an evaluation committee
17established by the public employer, at least one-half the members of which are
18front-line health care workers, determines by means of objective product evaluation
19criteria that use of a needleless system or a sharp with engineered sharps injury
20protection will jeopardize patient or employe safety with regard to a specific medical
21procedure.
SB337,4,2422
2. The standards adopted under subd. 1. may not prohibit the use of a prefilled
23syringe that is approved by the federal food and drug administration. This
24subdivision does not apply after September 30, 2003.
SB337,5,7
13. In adopting the standards described in subd. 1., the department shall also
2consider including additional requirements to prevent or mitigate sharps injuries
3and other exposure incidents such as training and educational requirements,
4requirements relating to the strategic placement of sharps containers as close to the
5work area as practicable and measures to encourage public employes to use personal
6protective equipment when handling blood or other materials potentially containing
7blood-borne pathogens and to receive vaccinations against blood-borne pathogens.
SB337,5,118
4. The department shall maintain a list of needleless systems and sharps with
9engineered sharps injury protection and shall make that list available to all public
10employers that are required to comply with the standards adopted under subd. 1. to
11assist those public employers in complying with those standards.
SB337, s. 9
12Section
9. 101.055 (5) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB337,5,1513
101.055
(5) (e) A representative of the department shall have access to the
14records required under sub. (7) (a)
and, (b)
and (bm) and to any other records
15maintained by a public employer which are related to the purpose of the inspection.
SB337, s. 10
16Section
10. 101.055 (7) (bm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB337,6,217
101.055
(7) (bm) A public employer employing a public employe in an
18occupation in which the public employe is at risk of occupational exposure to blood
19or other materials potentially containing blood-borne pathogens due to a sharps
20injury shall maintain a sharps injury log and shall make reports of all sharps injuries
21to the department at time intervals specified by rule of the department. The public
22employer shall make the sharps injury log available to the department, to the public
23employes of the public employer and to the public employes' representatives. This
24paragraph does not authorize disclosure of patient health care records except as
1provided in ss. 146.82 and 146.83. The sharps injury log shall include all of the
2following information:
SB337,6,33
1. The date and time of each exposure incident.
SB337,6,44
2. The type and brand of sharp involved in the exposure incident.
SB337,6,65
3. A description of the exposure incident, which shall include all of the following
6information:
SB337,6,77
a. The job classification of the exposed public employe.
SB337,6,88
b. The department or work area in which the exposure incident occurred.
SB337,6,109
c. The procedure that the exposed public employe was performing at the time
10of the exposure incident.
SB337,6,1111
d. How the exposure incident occurred.
SB337,6,1212
e. The body part involved in the exposure incident.
SB337,6,1613
f. If the sharp involved in the exposure incident had engineered sharps injury
14protection, whether the protective mechanism was activated and, if so, whether the
15sharps injury occurred before the protective mechanism was activated, during
16activation of the mechanism or after activation of the mechanism.
SB337,6,2017
g. If the sharp involved in the exposure incident did not have engineered sharps
18injury protection, the injured public employe's opinion as to whether and how a
19protective mechanism could have prevented the sharps injury and the basis for that
20opinion.
SB337,6,2321
h. The public employe's opinion as to whether any other engineering,
22administrative or work practice control could have prevented the sharps injury and
23the basis for that opinion.
SB337,7,4
1(1) The department of commerce shall submit in proposed form the rules
2required under section 101.055 (3) (cm) 1. of the statutes, as created by this act, to
3the legislative council staff under section 227.15 (1) of the statutes no later than the
4first day of the 6th month beginning after the effective date of this subsection.
