Rutherford Fights Opioid Deaths in the Workplace
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, Congressman John Rutherford (FL-05) joined Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman to introduce bipartisan and bicameral legislation to prevent opioid deaths and increase access to overdose reversal medications, like naloxone, also known as Narcan. The Workplace Overdose Reversal Kits (WORK) to Save Lives Act will require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue guidance to employers regarding training and usage of opioid overdose reversal medication.
Drug overdose deaths increased by over 30 percent within the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, approximately 83,000 opioid-involved drug overdose deaths were reported in the U.S. The National Safety Council found that, while 75 percent of employers reported opioid use having an impact on their workplace, only 17 percent were confident in their ability to respond to an overdose.
“As the number of opioid-related deaths rise across our nation, I am proud to join my bipartisan colleagues to introduce the WORK to Save Lives Act. Our bill would help equip workplaces with the skills and tools needed to administer lifesaving opioid overdose reversal medication in real time,” said Congressman Rutherford, member of the Bipartisan Mental Health & Substance Use Disorder Task Force. “While I am also focused on stopping the illicit fentanyl from coming into our country, our commonsense bill would truly save lives.”
“The COVID pandemic in part exposed the depths of an opioid epidemic that has been growing for years. Workplaces across the country are dealing with the fallout from our failure to adequately address this crisis,” said Congresswoman Watson Coleman. “The WORK to Save Lives Act will finally give workplaces the tools to save workers who are struggling with opioid addiction. Getting these overdose reversal medications – and training in their use – to as many employers as possible has the potential to save countless lives.”
The WORK to Save Lives Act would improve opioid overdose response in the workplace by requiring OSHA to develop guidance for employers on methods for acquiring and maintaining opioid overdose reversal medication and training for employees on the usage of this medication. This guidance would be implemented by federal workplaces and be made available to the public for employers to implement on a voluntary basis.
The WORK to Save Lives Act is cosponsored by Reps. David Trone (MD-06), Brittany Pettersen (CO-07), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At-Large), Doug Lamborn (CO-05), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Sean Casten (IL-06), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Barbara Lee (CA-23), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-07), Andre Carson (IN-07), Troy Carter (LA-02), and Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18).
View the full bill text here.
A companion bill will be introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR).
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