How I Voted: An Act Relative to Assault and Battery Upon a Transit Worker

Protecting Public Transit Workers from Assault

Bill: H.4645. An Act Relative to Assault and Battery Upon a Transit Worker

Date of Vote: October 22, 2025

What Problem Was This Bill Trying to Solve?

Public transit workers across Massachusetts face increasing risks of workplace violence while performing essential duties that keep communities connected. Transit employees, including operators, station personnel, and other workers, have experienced assaults, threats, and incidents of harassment while serving the public.

Under existing law, certain public employees, including police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, receive enhanced legal protections when assaulted in the line of duty. However, public transit workers were not included under these heightened protections, leaving a gap in the law.

This legislation addresses that gap by extending stronger legal protections to transit workers, improving accountability for individuals who commit assaults, and recognizing the importance of protecting the employees who maintain the Commonwealth’s transportation system.

What Does the Bill Do?

• Adds public transit workers to the list of public employees protected under enhanced assault and battery laws.

• Extends these protections to transit employees working for both public agencies and private contractors providing public transportation services.

• Applies enhanced penalties for individuals who assault transit workers while they are performing their duties:

  • A sentence ranging from 90 days to 2.5 years in a house of correction.

  • A fine between $500 and $5,000.

  • Both imprisonment and fines may be imposed.

• Clarifies that projecting bodily fluids, including spitting or throwing substances such as urine, qualifies as assault against a public worker.

• Strengthens protections for workers who provide essential public transportation services, including employees who operate and maintain transit systems.

How I Voted

I voted YES.

Why I Voted This Way

Public transit workers provide an essential service that allows residents across Massachusetts to get to work, school, medical appointments, and other daily activities. These employees deserve to perform their jobs in a safe environment free from threats, intimidation, and violence.

No worker should face assault simply because they are serving the public. By extending the same heightened legal protections already provided to other public employees, this legislation recognizes the important role transit workers play in keeping the Commonwealth moving.

This bill also improves accountability by ensuring that assaults against transit workers are treated with the seriousness they deserve, including incidents involving intentional exposure to bodily fluids.

I supported this legislation because it protects essential workers, strengthens public safety, and reinforces Massachusetts’ commitment to ensuring that those who serve our communities can do their jobs safely and with dignity.

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Image credit: Jones, Lou. MBTA Green Line trolley on Commonwealth Avenue. 01 Sep 2004. Web. 23 Oct 2025. <https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/g732h1990>.