In furtherance of their recognition that workplace violence is a safety issue within their jurisdiction, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently issued a compliance directive to their staff regarding how to conduct inspections of episodes of work place violence, particularly in industries with high incidences of workplace violence. The Directive, Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Incidents of Workplace Violence, does not require every incident of work place violence to be investigated; rather, it provides guidance for field officers to decide whether to investigate and/or issue a citation.
OSHA approaches workplace violence in different ways according to the relationship between parties involved.
- Type I violence involves violent criminal intent or acts by people who enter the workplace to commit a robbery or other crime.
- Type II is directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates or any others to whom the employer provides a service.
- Type III is violence against co-workers, supervisors or managers by a current or former employee.
- Type IV includes violence in the workplace by someone who does not work at the location, but is known to or has a relationship with an employee.
The Directive identifies industries that are identified as high risk for potential workplace violence. Healthcare and social service settings are considered in this category, along with late night retail settings (e.g. convenience stores, liquor stores and gas stations).
OSHA’s Directive focuses on two primary questions: (1) Did the employer recognize potential hazards in the workplace?; and (2) Are there feasible means of preventing or minimizing such hazards? The Directive encourages employers to conduct assessments of their risk for workplace violence at their jobsites and sets out steps that employers can take to minimize that risk. In particular, employers are urged to be aware of potential workplace hazards because of specific past incidences, characteristics of the employer’s facility or general industry wide knowledge of the potential of workplace violence. OSHA suggests that employers assess hazards on a periodic basis to determine whether safety mechanisms are effective.
Employers are encouraged to keep detailed records of workplace violence as well as workers’ compensation records, insurance reports, police reports, security reports and accident logs.
Bottom Line
Employers, especially those in identified “high risk” industries, should have well defined and maintained workplace violence prevention programs designed to minimize and eliminate the potential for workplace violence. Employers should educate their employees on risk factors and prevention procedures to reduce the potential for workplace violence.