A nationally renowned expert in violence prevention, threat assessment and crisis management gave TRSA Midwest Summit attendees much food for thought about intensifying efforts to protect their staff against workplace violence. Kenneth Wolf, a Michigan-based clinical psychologist, encouraged attendees to examine their practices for possible enhancement, given the industry’ potential for low-frequency, high-impact incidents.
He displayed TV news footage of a 2024 shooting when a discharged employee shot five workers and killed two of them at a U.S. linen service company. At another, a 2015 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sexual harassment investigation resulted in a nearly $600,000 settlement with eight female immigrant employees. In addition, Wolf noted that the industry’s workplace extends to customer locations, putting route drivers at risk for robbery.
Potential for worker-on-worker violence indicates the likely need for intensified behavioral threat management and reassessment of techniques used in terminating employees for cause, he indicated.
Citing U.S. Secret Service protocol for threat management, he discussed principles that could apply to companies with any number of employees. He urged managers responsible for human resources, safety and facility operations to participate in a team to identify, assess and manage this process. Other professionals, perhaps consultants, would contribute legal, security and threat expertise, and union representatives could be involved.
Wolf provided TRSA with a checklist for linen, uniform and facility service operators to assess the strength of their workplace violence prevention. Click here to access it. Complete this 10-question list and submit results with your email address to receive a benchmarking report to compare your answers to those of others who completed it.
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