Attacking A Health Care Worker A Felony In WI: Evers Signs Bill

WISCONSIN — Gov. Tony Evers signed a bill Wednesday to increase the penalty for attacking or threatening a health care provider in Wisconsin.

If someone hits or threatens a hospital worker, emergency staff, other health care providers or their families, they can be charged with a Class H Felony under Wisconsin Act 209. A Class F Felony can be punished with up to 12 years and 6 months in prison.

The law makes battery or a threat against a health care provider a felony if the act is carried out in response to something that happened at a health care facility.

The pandemic underscored the importance of healthcare workers, Evers said in a statement. "They deserve to be safe doing their life-saving work," he added.

Threats and burdens from the COVID-19 pandemic caused the "quit rate" of health care providers to increase 30 percent within the first five months of the fall 2020 virus surge, the Wisconsin Hospital Association said. The association includes 155 hospitals across the state.

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