Senate Bill No. 300
(By Senator Weeks)
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[Introduced January 28, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §16-39-4 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to prohibiting discrimination or
retaliation against a health care worker who refuses to
participate in treatment of a patient based upon good faith
belief that the treatment is contrary to religious or moral
beliefs or conscience of the health care worker.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §16-39-4 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 39. PATIENT SAFETY ACT.
§16-39-4. Prohibition against discrimination or retaliation.
(a) No person may retaliate or discriminate in any manner
against any health care worker because the worker, or any person
acting on behalf of the worker:
(1) Makes a good faith report, or is about to report, verbally or in writing, to the health care entity or appropriate authority
an instance of wrongdoing or waste.
(2) Advocated on behalf of a patient or patients with respect
to the care, services or conditions of a health care entity;
(3) Initiated, cooperated or otherwise participated in any
investigation or proceeding of any governmental entity relating to
the care, services or conditions of a health care entity;
(4) Refuses to participate in the treatment of a patient based
on good faith belief of the health care worker that the treatment
is contrary to the religious or moral beliefs or conscience of the
health care worker.
(b) A health care worker with respect to the conduct described
is acting in good faith if the health care worker reasonably
believes:
(1) That the information is true; and
(2) Constitutes waste or wrongdoing as defined in section
three of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to prohibit discrimination
or retaliation against a health care worker who refuses to
participate in treatment of a patient based upon good faith belief
that the treatment is contrary to religious or moral beliefs or
conscience of the health care worker.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
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