(BOSTON 11/17/2025) — The Massachusetts Senate today took action to support public transit workers by stepping up penalties for people who assault them while they are on duty.

An Act relative to assault and battery upon a transit worker, S.2697, responds to an increased number of assaults targeting workers on Massachusetts’ public transportation systems by ensuring a heightened minimum punishment.

On the MBTA alone, workers in 2024 were targeted by 33 assaults with weapons and 72 physical assaults, according to testimony heard by the Legislature at a recent public hearing. The bill ensures that all transit workers are covered, including those who are not directly employed by the state, such as workers employed by Keolis, the state’s contracted commuter rail operator.

Workers on the MBTA, commuter rail lines, regional transit authorities, and other public transit systems also face possible assault with bodily fluids, such as saliva. MBTA workers were targeted by 38 bodily fluid assaults in 2024. This legislation explicitly punishes bodily substance assaults in addition to other types of assaults. Convicted perpetrators of any such assaults would face a heightened minimum 90 day sentence or $500 fine. The maximum punishment is up to two and a half years in a county facility or up to a $5,000 fine.

“Transit workers, regardless of how they support our transportation systems, work one of the most important jobs in our society; helping people get where they need to go. Those who seek to harm these workers for simply doing their jobs will face consequences,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “We owe these employees protection, and this bill shows that we have our transit workers’ backs. I’m proud to have joined together with my colleagues in the Senate to pass this bill unanimously.”

The Senate passed the bill on a 38-0 roll call vote, sending it to the House for further consideration.

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