workplace violence

Workplace Violence Prevention and the Overlap of Employment Law and Safety Compliance

Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

By Andrea O. Chavez

Workplace violence continues to be a growing national concern and one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities. In 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 5,283 workplace deaths nationwide. Of these, 740 fatalities, or 14%, were due to violent acts. More than 60% of those incidents were homicides, and 18% workplace homicide victims were women. Workers aged 25 to 34 experienced the highest number of fatalities related to violent acts, and nearly 30 percent of workplace homicides occurred in the retail trade industry.

As regulators, lawmakers, and employers respond to this trend, workplace violence prevention has emerged as a critical focus with overlap between occupational safety regulation and employment law compliance.

Understanding Workplace Violence

Workplace violence is often defined as any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening behavior that occurs at the worksite. Incidents may involve employees, clients, customers, visitors, or those in a personal relationship with an employee, and can range from verbal threats to physical assaults or the use of weapons.

Employees at elevated risk include Continue reading →

Preventing and Responding to Workplace Violence

Theresa Jordan Leave a comment

On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, Kara M. Maciel, Lindsay A. DiSalvo, and special guest Terri D. Patterson, Ph.D., a Principal at Control Risks and threat management expert with over two decades of experience, presented a webinar on Preventing and Responding to Workplace Violence.

In 2020, physical assault was identified as the 4th leading cause of workplace deaths. Nearly 2 million American workers experience violent acts at work annually. As the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be entering the endemic phase and workers begin to transition back into the workplace, experts predict even more of an increase in workplace violence. Thus, employers will want to be prepared to prevent these types of incidents and protect their employees to the extent possible, as well as ensure they are doing all that’s required from a regulatory standpoint.

Workplace violence has been a focus for both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) well before the pandemic and remains so now. While OSHA has no specific standard for workplace violence, the OSH Act’s General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized serious hazards, and OSHA has instituted enforcement actions under its General Duty Clause after incidents of workplace violence. OSHA has also initiated a rulemaking to address workplace violence in specific industries. For its part, the EEOC has also prioritized ways to effectively prevent and address workplace violence, particularly in the form of workplace harassment. And outside of OSHA and the EEOC, employers can also be held liable for workplace violence through other claims such as negligent hiring and supervision.

In this webinar, attendees learned: Continue reading →

The Impact of Workplace Violence as it relates to Employment Laws and OSHA [Webinar Recording]

Kara Maciel Leave a comment

On September 20, 2017,  Kara M. Maciel and Andrew J. Sommer of Conn Maciel Carey’s national Labor & Employment and OSHA – Workplace Safety Practices presented a webinar regarding The Impact of Workplace Violence as it relates to Employment Laws and OSHA.

Workplace Violence Slide.PNG

Approximately 1 million workers experience violent acts at work annually. Violence in the workplace is a major concern for employers especially given the events that took place in 2016 in San Bernardino Inland Regional Center shooting massacre and in Hesston, Kansas.  Events like these illustrate that workplace violence can occur at any place at any time. The obvious and most important threat it poses is to the health and safety of anyone caught in the path of violent co-workers or third parties. But, workplace violence can have many other cascading, and negative effects such as reputational harm, and it can result in costly lawsuits ranging from negligent hiring or supervision of its employees to OSHA citations. If violence occurs in your workplace, it is vital that employers have strong workplace violence policies in place to help prevent workplace violence but also to respond to it if and when it does occur.

Here is a link to the recording of the webinar.

This webinar is part of Conn Maciel Carey’s 2017 Webinar Series.  Click here for the full schedule and program descriptions for the 2017 series, and click here to send us an email request to register for the entire 2017 series.

If you missed any of our prior webinars in the 2017, here is a link to Conn Maciel Carey’s Webinar Archive.

Workplace Violence: Employer Liability in Virginia and Potential VOSH Penalties

Daniel C. Deacon Leave a comment

Workplace violence has become a serious issue for employers throughout the United States. In the wake of the shootings that occurred in San Bernardino, California and Hesston, Kansas, both of which occurred at the employer’s workplace, it is important for employers to be aware of the potential for violence in the workplace and ways in which it can be prevented.  Although these two incidents may not have been foreseeable or preventable, these incidents will nevertheless bring more attention to this issue.

Workplace violence can be categorized in three ways: 1) violence by an employee; 2) violence by a stranger; or 3) violence by a known third party. Depending on the facts of each incident, an employer may be faced with a lawsuit and/or a government investigation.  In Virginia, the law generally shields employers from liability for physical harm caused to employees or customers by the violent acts of employees or third parties.  However, even if an employer evades civil liability, employers may still be subject to an investigation Continue reading →

Workplace Violence: No Longer Just a Police Issue — Webinar Recording

Kara Maciel Leave a comment

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015, Eric J. Conn and Kara M. Maciel delivered a webinar regarding “Workplace Violence: No Longer Just a Police Issue.”

Every year, approximately 10% of workplace fatalities result from intentional violent acts.  The prevalence of workplace violence is even more alarming when you take into account non-fatal assaults and threats of violence.  This particular workplace hazard is uniquely challenging because the threat is often from outside the workplace, including non-employee third parties.  Regardless, workplace violence has also become a hot button enforcement issue for OSHA, citing employers under the OSH Act’s catch-all General Duty Clause for employers who do not do enough to protect their employees from violent acts.  Beyond OSHA, workplace violence can also implicate other employment laws.  For example, if violent acts or threats occur because of symptoms of an employee’s disability, the handling of discipline and termination gets tricky under the ADA.  Likewise, HR issues related background checks and negligent hiring could also contribute to civil liability.

Therefore, it is important for employers to develop and implement an effective Workplace Violence Prevention Program and appropriate hiring practices.  This webinar advised employers about their legal obligations to address workplace violence and the implications if they fail to do so.  It also provided employers with the knowledge and tools they need to develop a workplace violence prevention policy and training for employees to ensure they know what steps to take if an incident of workplace violence occurs.

Specific topics included:

  • OSHA’s enforcement philosophy about workplace violence and enforcement under the General Duty Clause;
  • When injuries that result from workplace violence must be reported to OSHA;
  • Reference checking, negligent hiring and supervision obligations to avoid liability to employees or third parties injured from workplace violence;
  • Employer obligations under the ADA, Title VII and state workers compensation laws; and
  • Recommendations for a compliant workplace violence prevention policy and employee training.

Here is a link to a recording of the webinar, which includes the full audio with slides.