Workplace Violence: Risks, Responsibilities, and Prevention

Under the Oregon Safe Employment Act, employers have a duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace for their employees that is free of hazards — and free of workplace violence. Workplace violence is defined as the act of a verbal or physical threat of violence against individuals in the workplace. Not only can these threats cause physical harm, but the psychological impact can leave long-lasting effects on employees.

In 2023, national workplace fatalities due to violent acts totaled 740, with homicides accounting for 458 of those incidents. According to Oregon OSHA, in the two years between 2016 and 2018, there were 1,997 workers in Oregon who experienced workplace assaults or other violent acts. Two hundred and ninety-eight accepted- disabling claims from assault were in local government/public administration. Typically, the perpetrator is a criminal (with intent to rob or commit another type of crime), a customer, former/current employee, or an individual from a personal relationship with an employee.

In a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) through 2019, people in corrections occupations were found to have the highest average rate of nonfatal workplace violence, with 149.1 per 1,000 over the 27-year period of the study. Public service workers and law enforcement personnel were among those with an elevated risk of encountering workplace violence, as well as those working alone or late at night. In 47% of the nonfatal workplace violence incidents studied between 2015 and 2019, male victims were less likely to know the offender than female victims.

If an employer is aware of workplace violence and fails to act, this could increase their potential liability should something more serious occur. All situations are considered recordable on incident reports by Oregon OSHA, but sometimes, particularly with employee on employee cases, they should be treated as a privacy concern, as outlined in OAR 437-001-0700(14)(1)(G).

Employees must have an outlet to report any concerns about their security and safety without fear of reprisal. If employees do not feel they can report concerns, this further encourages acts of aggression by the offenders.

Employers should implement a zero-tolerance policy regarding both physical and verbal workplace violence incidents. Instances should be properly documented each time, and a trained neutral party might be useful in investigating and assessing the event. Depending upon the severity of the act, it may be prudent to notify law enforcement and/or implement restrictions on offender access to staff until the case can be thoroughly investigated and resolved. This might include putting the offender on administrative leave until that occurs.

When violence is involved, the use of CIS Employment Risk Services is critical — as well as ensuring that CIS employment attorneys know the full extent of the seriousness of the event. This is particularly important to make sure the employment side is managed appropriately and with the safety and security of the victims in mind. Many times, reporting and investigating these cases can create an escalation of behaviors by the offender towards the reporting victims.

The use of a threat log is encouraged, even if not specifically outlined in the standards (except for healthcare workers, who are required by the standard) as well as a workplace violence prevention program. Other types of controls are also encouraged, such as limiting access to staff areas of buildings through the use of key card or biometric access, increasing lighting inside and around the perimeters of buildings and in staff parking areas, adding monitored video surveillance to areas of concern, providing security personnel, increasing barriers between the public and citizens such as raised counters, locked doorways and bullet-proof glass barriers, as well as implementing a weapons policy limiting the carrying of weapons in public buildings.

Below are some useful resources and publications, including the links to the Oregon OSHA standards and training:

• Oregon OSHA Workplace Violence Publication

• FBI Workplace Violence Publication

• Oregon OSHA Violence in the Workplace Topic Page

• Federal OSHA Workplace Violence Page

• Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Workplace Violence Awareness and Prevention Flyer