Prohibits disclosure of personal information pertaining to certain health care workers who are victims of assault; establishes civil penalty for each violation.

A2062

ASSEMBLY, No. 2062

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman LINDA S. CARTER

District 22 (Somerset and Union)

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman Park

SYNOPSIS

���� Prohibits disclosure of personal information
pertaining to certain health care workers who are victims of assault;
establishes civil penalty for each violation.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning confidentiality of victim�s personal
information and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� As used in this act,
�public record� shall have the same meaning as P.L.1963, c.73 (C.47:1A-1 et
seq.).

���� b.��� The name and address

of a
health care worker who is a victim of an alleged simple assault or aggravated
assault pursuant to N.J.S.2C:12-1, or sexual assault or aggravated sexual
assault pursuant to N.J.S.2C:14-2 while engaged in the duties of providing
direct patient care or practicing the health care profession shall be kept
confidential and not appear on a report, statement, court document, indictment,
or complaint if the actor is a patient or resident at a health care facility
and the victim is:

���� (1)�� a health care worker
employed by a licensed health care facility to provide direct patient care;

���� (2)�� a health care
professional licensed or otherwise authorized pursuant to Title 26 or Title 45
of the Revised Statutes to practice a health care profession; or

���� (3)�� a direct care worker at
a State or county psychiatric hospital or State developmental center or
veterans' memorial home.

���� The name and address of the
victim shall be omitted or redacted from the report, statement, court document,
indictment, or complaint.

���� c.���� Any report, statement,
court document, indictment, or complaint which states the name or

address
of a victim shall be confidential and unavailable to the public.� Unless
authorized pursuant to a court order, any person who purposefully discloses,
releases, or otherwise makes available to the public any document listed in
subsection a. of this section which contains the name or address of a victim
shall be subject to a civil penalty of $100 for each document.�

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of
enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill prohibits the
disclosure of personal information pertaining to certain health care workers
who are assaulted by a patient or resident of a health care facility to prevent
further violence, threats or intimidation against the victim.�

���� Specifically, the bill
prohibits the disclosure of the name and address of a victim of an alleged simple
assault, aggravated assault, sexual assault, or aggravated sexual assault on a
report, statement, court document, indictment, or complaint which is provided
to the public if the actor is a patient or resident at a health care facility
and the victim is: 1) a health care worker employed by a licensed health care
facility to provide direct patient care; 2) a health care professional licensed
or otherwise authorized pursuant to Title 26 or Title 45 of the Revised
Statutes to practice a health care profession; or 3) a direct care worker at a
State or county psychiatric hospital or State developmental center or veterans'
memorial home.� The bill requires this information to be omitted or redacted
from the document.

���� The bill also requires that
any report, statement, court document, indictment, or complaint which states
the name or address of a victim be kept confidential and unavailable to the
public, unless authorized pursuant to a court order.� Any person who
purposefully discloses, releases, or otherwise makes available to the public,
without authorization, any of these documents would be subject to a civil
penalty of $100 for each document disclosed in violation of the bill.�

���� According to data from the
U.S. Department of Labor, h
ealth
care
and social service workers experience the highest rates of injuries
caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely

to

suffer a workplace
violence injury than workers overall.
�
In 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S.
Department of Labor reported that healthcare workers accounted for 73 percent
of the more than 18,000 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to
violence.