Senate bill heightens punishments for assaults on MBTA, RTA, Commuter Rail employees
(BOSTON—11/13/2025) 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. Senator Cindy F. Friedman (D-Arlington) voted to support the legislation.
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.
“Ensuring that our transit workers are safe on the job is essential, not only for their well-being but for that of their riders,” said Senator Friedman, Chair of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy. “Expanding coverage to include contracted employees working on behalf of the MBTA closes an important gap in the protection of these workers. I thank my colleagues who have led the charge on this issue and I hope to see the House move this legislation as well this session.”
The Senate Committee on Ways and Means advanced the bill with a 17-0 vote on November 6, 2025. The House of Representatives passed a similar version of the bill on October 22, 2025 following a favorable report from the Joint Committee on the Judiciary on August 18, 2025.
The Senate passed the bill on a 38-0 roll call vote, sending it to the House for further consideration.
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