Workplace Violence: Protect Your People & Company

While relatively rare, the danger of violence in U.S. workplaces is nonetheless chillingly real: Roughly 800 workplace homicides occur each year, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Along with that danger, your company could be held liable for an employee’s threats or violent actions.

“By OSHA standards, the company is responsible for providing a safe work environment,” says Don Maida, a senior project consultant for TBR Associates, a consulting firm. “It can get hairy in today’s litigious-prone society; you need to close loopholes,” he says.

First of all, your company needs to protect itself from negligent hiring liability—the claim that an employer should have known about the risk an employee presented to others and taken action to prevent it. But taking steps to ensure that the people you hire don’t have a history of violence can be difficult.

That’s because checking a job applicant’s criminal history is complicated, says Debra S. Friedman, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s labor & employment department.

“It must be done in accordance with state and federal laws; it’s heavily regulated. Only do criminal history checks after you’ve given a conditional job offer,” she says. (See related story, next page.)

Daniel J. McGravey, senior counsel at Clark Hill in Philadelphia, advises that companies always contact applicants’ references. Also, make sure the people interviewing candidates are properly trained to ask the right questions, particularly about any gaps that appear in an applicant’s work history.

Employers also may face liability from negligent supervision, notes Amy C. Lachowicz, a senior attorney in the Philadelphia office of Clark Hill. Negligent supervision is defined as a failure by an employer to reasonably control or monitor the actions of employees.

“To avoid that, there should be a mechanism for other employees to complain if they feel they are being harassed. You should have an anti-violence and anti-harassment policy,” says Lachowicz.

The goal of this policy is to foster an environment where your employees feel they can make complaints if they experience or witness anything threatening.

“The policy should be in the company handbook and it needs to be communicated when a new hire comes on board,” says J.R. Ryan, president of TBR Associates, which advises a number of commercial laundry companies. “Don’t just give them the company handbook, but review it. Create expectations from day one. And when there are changes, educate employees about them. Don’t just put a notice up by the time clock.”

Go through the policy step by step, Friedman advises. “Identify its purpose—to prevent violence and maintain a safe work environment. Then identify types of behavior that violate the policy—fighting, aggressive behavior, bullying, intimidating, threatening or harassing another person. It can include bringing weapons or other hazards on company property. It can include destruction of property, stalking, acts of sabotage.”

All employees should receive thorough training on the company’s zero tolerance for workplace violence policy, to make sure that they understand that the company will take action if someone violates those policies and that there will be consequences, up to and including dismissal, Friedman says.

Maida agrees that it’s important to spell out the rules in the handbook, so that it’s clear what won’t be tolerated.

“When there’s an episode, employees should be suspended for a minimum of three days,” he says. “Get them away from the workplace. I advocate removing people from the facility, give them time to cool their jets.”

Domestic violence that carries over into the workplace is a particular problem for female employees. Nearly a third of women killed in U.S. workplaces between 2003 and 2008 were victims of current or former partner.

Friedman urges companies to make sure that employees understand that third-parties can be barred from the premises and that, if appropriate, the company will contact law enforcement.

“If an employee fears a partner, advise the employee to report it to the police. Let the person know that if there’s a protection order, then the employer can put in the necessary security, such as alerting whoever is monitoring the building,” she says. Offer the employee time off to testify, if necessary, and remind the person of the availability of any employee-assistance programs.

Training managers and supervisors is especially important, Friedman notes. They should know how to contact law enforcement and if the company has an incident-response team, they should know how to contact that team in the event of an emergency.

“Train them on ways to secure the workplace: To keep little cash on hand, to make sure that the surveillance system is operating, to make sure that there’s proper lighting” she says.

McGravey suggests training supervisors and managers to better identify behavioral characteristics that might be warning signs of violence, such as always blaming others or having unexplained absences from work.

Managers and supervisors should be well trained, but your human resource department plays a key role in protecting your company and your workforce.

Employees should be able to take their concerns directly, and confidentially, to HR, Maida says, because sometimes it’s the manager who is the source of the threat. He cited a case in which it was the supervisor who was creating an environment of sexual harassment.

“HR professionals should circulate the plant floor in different areas to keep their finger on the pulse,” he says. “That’s an effective method of making sure people are being heard and of making sure you resolve a problem before there is further escalation of violence.”

A strong company culture is critical to preventing violence and the liabilities it leads to, he adds. “Violence in the workplace is a result of the culture that the company sets forth. If people are treated with respect, you can minimize it. A lot of times when you get these episodes, it didn’t happen today, it’s been happening.”

Stephenie Overman is a freelance writer based in the Washington DC area.

Companies find it can be difficult to get any information about a job applicant from a past employer beyond confirming the dates of employment. That’s because former employers fear being sued.

A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in February (H.R. 843) seeks to change that by creating a safe harbor from liability for companies that report any violent behavior by a former employee to a potential employer.

Some states already have protections for employers that give references in good faith, says Debra S. Friedman, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s labor & employment department. A federal law, if passed, would ensure those protections nationwide.

“The goal of the legislation is to share valuable information in the hope of reducing workplace violence,” Friedman says.