Preventing Workplace Violence: Steps Employers Can Take Before Tragedy Strikes

By Russell A. Jones and Sinead E. Daly

Consider the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”  In the wake of multiple violent tragedies in workplaces across the country, including the recent deadly shooting in Virginia Beach, employers should consider taking steps to prevent violence in their workplaces.  Following highly publicized incidents of workplace violence, employers and employees alike often lament, “We never thought it could happen here.”  Given the virtually incurable nature of workplace violence resulting in injury or death, employers are well advised to appreciate that no workplace is entirely immune from potential violence. 

While it may not be possible completely to inoculate a workplace from violent acts, there are proactive steps employers can consider to improve the chances of preventing or minimizing workplace violence.  For example, employers can work to foster a violence-free workplace culture that encourages employees and managers alike to spot and to alert their employers if they experience troubling behavior or communications that might lead to workplace violence.  Employers can also establish, communicate, and consistently enforce policies expressly prohibiting workplace violence and encouraging employees to report threatening or suspicious conduct.  Employers can review the security features of their facilities and can take steps to create a safer physical working environment.  Additionally, employers can consider training employees and managers concerning the warning signs of workplace violence and concerning the security and safety features of their physical work environments.

The Legal Duty to Provide a Safe Workplace

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (“OSH Act”) makes covered employers responsible for providing a safe workplace, free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.  This federal law imposes a general duty on employers to maintain a safe workplace. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”), the federal agency charged with enforcing the OSH Act, workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at a work site.  This includes verbal threats as well as physical acts and can involve employees, clients, customers, vendors, and visitors.  Note also, that many states have adopted laws to address workplace safety, so it is important for employers to be familiar with applicable state laws as well.

Create a Violence-Free Workplace Culture

It is important for employee engagement, productivity, and morale that employees feel safe in their workplaces.  To facilitate a conducive working environment, employers should encourage employees to report suspicious or threatening behavior or communications that constitute or could be a precursor to workplace violence.  Examples of such behavior can include off-handed threats of violence by co-workers (whether made in-person, electronically, or even over social media), significant changes in a co-worker’s personality, a co-worker’s communication that he is contemplating suicide, or knowledge of a co-worker who is experiencing domestic violence (which often spills over into the workplace).  If employers reassure employees that such concerns will be investigated promptly (without retaliation and in as confidential a manner as possible), and that appropriate action will be taken when warranted, employees may be more willing to report their concerns.  Employers can reiterate the avenues available to employees to report any troubling observations such as talking with a supervisor or manager, contacting Human Resources, or by utilizing a complaint hotline established by the employer.  Furthermore, an employer can offer its employees access to an employee assistance program (“EAP”) that may provide or direct employees to a host of helpful services including mental health and suicide prevention counseling.  By instilling an “if you see something, say something” culture within its workforce with a focus on employee well-being and workplace safety, employers may have an opportunity proactively to prevent potential issues that could lead to workplace violence before it is too late.  Of course, employers that receive reports of such behavior must respond promptly and appropriately to address these concerns.

Establish, Communicate, and Consistently Enforce Policies and Procedures Addressing Workplace Violence

A key step employers can take to foster a violence-free workplace is by having written policies and procedures that expressly address workplace violence.  Employers can develop policies prohibiting workplace threats and violence and providing employees with clear guidance on how to report behaviors or communications that could lead to violence.  Often styled as “zero tolerance” when it comes to workplace violence, such policies also may include an employer’s commitment to maintaining a safe environment free from violence and intimidation, definitions of workplace violence, examples of what constitutes workplace violence, and a description of the type of objects that are considered prohibited weapons.  It also is advisable for such policies to inform employees that violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.  Employers also may want to establish policies for conducting background checks of candidates who are provided conditional offers of employment.  Such checks may help to identify and to preclude from employment individuals who have a history of engaging in violent acts.  Employers that adopt and maintain policies aimed at preventing workplace violence should ensure that they are communicated to employees regularly and that they are consistently applied and enforced.  Given that state laws can vary regarding many topics often addressed in policies related to workplace violence, such as criminal background checks, guns on employers’ property, and protections for victims of domestic violence, employers should be familiar with applicable state laws when developing and enforcing such policies.

Review the Safety and Security Features of Physical Working Environments

Another step employers can take to prevent or to minimize the impact of workplace violence is to conduct an assessment of the safety and security measures in their physical workplaces and facilities.  Such an assessment may identify any shortcomings in physical security and safety protocols and may provide the employer the opportunity to adopt or to install additional safeguards.  Depending upon the nature of the workplace and workforce, such measures may include, for example, establishing or updating facility access controls, installing security cameras, reviewing job descriptions to ensure duties and responsibilities for workplace safety and security are defined accurately and appropriately, and establishing protocols for recommended practices in the event of a workplace violence event.  Additionally, employers may consider forming a safety and security management team charged with implementing, reviewing, and managing issues related to workplace safety and security.  Such a team can assist the employer with assessing and implementing the employer’s preventative policies and procedures and can engage in advance planning for responding to workplace violence issues that may arise.

Consider Providing Training Regarding Workplace Violence Prevention

Another preventive step employers can take is to provide education and training programs to employees that focus on safety and security policies and protocols, the warning signs of potential violence, and the appropriate ways for employees to respond if they experience or observe such signs before tragedy strikes.  Employers can emphasize the need and means to report troubling behavior or suspected violence.  Further, employers can advise that it does not tolerate any retaliation against anyone who makes a good-faith report of a potential incident or threat of violence.  For those in a supervisory capacity, employers can provide training on how to spot and to respond appropriately to issues involving potential or actual workplace violence.  By conducting these trainings periodically, employers can reinforce the culture of a violence-free workplace, which may result in early detection and a reduction of the risk of violence.

In light of the highly publicized incidents of workplace shootings, there has been increased discussion regarding employers providing employees with “active shooter training.”  This training often focuses on conveying to employees options that they have during an active shooter event.  It is advisable that employers not conduct active shooter training themselves.  Rather, for potential liability reasons, employers are strongly advised to have law enforcement officials conduct any active shooter training and to make clear that the recommendations, including the common mantra of “run, hide, fight,” are those of federal and state law enforcement officials and not the employer’s.  Typically, during active shooter training, employees are instructed to identify potential escape routes (run), identify potential hiding places and barricading techniques (hide), and, as a last resort, only if in imminent danger, strategies to confront an attacker physically (fight).  While active shooter training may be beneficial, each employer needs to determine whether such training is appropriate for its workplace and its workforce.  At this time, there is no legal requirement to conduct this type of training.  If an employer elects to provide active shooter training, the employer should carefully assess the qualifications of any trainer it retains, the substance of the training, and the methodology of the training in order to consider whether the benefits will outweigh the stress it may cause employees.

Conclusion

While the goal of maintaining a safe and violence-free culture may be applicable to all workplaces, there are vast differences across industries, working environments, and workforces. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to address workplace violence prevention.  Instead, each employer should consider carefully its specific circumstances to evaluate what may work best for its employees and where it may be able to improve approaches to preventing workplace violence.

Although the potential of workplace violence may be impossible to eliminate in its entirety, employers can take steps to help prevent and to minimize such risks.  By fostering violence-free workplace cultures, by implementing appropriate policies, by reviewing safety and security features and protocols of physical working environments, and by providing tailored training to employees, employers can take an ounce of prevention and reduce the risk of violence in their workplaces.  Additionally, to achieve a healthy dose of workplace violence prevention, employers also may want to consult with experienced professionals including labor and employment counsel and other workplace safety and security experts.