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Safeguarding Your Employees While Protecting Your Business from Liability
by Michael S. Pepperman, Esq.
High-profile horror stories about workplace violence that appear in news headlines and on the evening news every few months barely shock us anymore. A disgruntled copier repairman in Hawaii opens fire on his boss and coworkers, killing seven. An Atlanta day-trader kills his wife, two children and nine coworkers after suffering severe losses on the stock market. A professional basketball player chokes his coach. While these recent stories appear to be aberrations, they are symptomatic of a growing problem that pervades the American workplace: employee violence.
Workplace violence tripled in the 1990s. Workplace homicide has been described as the fastest growing category of homicide in the country. In the United States alone, an average of 20 people are murdered each week while at work. Homicide is now the second leading cause of workplace death for men and the leading cause of workplace death for women.
Homicide, however, is far from the only form of workplace violence. Other types of workplace violence such as assault, verbal threats, profanity, harassment and stalkings are much more common than workplace homicide, and can be almost as disruptive. Each year, approximately 1 million people are assaulted while at work on duty -- about one-third by fellow employees.
As a result of workplace violence, companies have suffered tremendous losses from decreased employee productivity, rising insurance costs, increased security expenses, escalating litigation expenses and runaway jury verdicts. Ultimately, employers bear this burden, watching both business and legal costs rise when they have to pay for employees' acts of violence. The Workplace Violence Research Institute estimated that workplace violence and its aftermath cost American businesses approximately $36 billion in 1995.
To meet their legal obligations and minimize potential liabilities, employers must take steps to help contain, reduce and eliminate violence in the workplace. Effective measures include:
- Conduct thorough background and reference checks. The best way to avoid problems with violent employees is not to hire them. Accordingly, employers should conduct in-person job interviews whenever possible, even when hiring for entry-level or low-paying positions. You can sometimes learn about people's propensity for violence just by meeting them. In certain circumstances, psychological profile tests may be used to help predict an applicant's potential for violence. The employer should also seek information from the applicant's former employers and conduct a criminal background check. (Note: Many states prohibit the denial of employment based on a criminal conviction unless the crime is closely related to the job duties of the position and if the conviction is not too remote in time.)
- Create a zero-tolerance policy against violence and weapons. Employers should maintain strict written policies against all forms of violent acts and the possession of weapons at the workplace. These policies should be distributed to and acknowledged by every employee, and should state that any employee who violates the policies will be terminated.
- Provide adequate security measures. Employers must maintain adequate security both for their employees and for people visiting their premises. Depending on the size and nature of the business, these measures may include security guards, security cameras and card-key access systems. Employers should also have a crisis management team in place to respond to violent acts, as well as to help create and manage internal measures to avoid them.
- Awareness of the warning signs. It is often difficult to predict when an employee will act out violently. There are, however, several commonly accepted warning signs that could indicate that an employee may become violent. These include: excessive use of profanity, anger, depression, marital problems, loss of status at work, suicidal tendencies, a workplace romance gone bad and threats made against coworkers, supervisors or the company (all threats should be taken seriously). If an employee has one or more of the above characteristics, the employer may want to consult his or her attorney and a psychiatric professional to determine the appropriate level of intervention, assistance or discipline required.
No panacea exists for employers to avoid entirely episodes of workplace violence. Combining education with preparedness, however, increases the possibility of preventing workplace violence problems and effectively handling them when they do occur.
Whether developing effective preventative measures or handling specific workplace violence situations, employers should always seek the assistance of legal counsel to assist them in their fight against workplace violence.
Michael S. Pepperman, Esq., is an associate in the labor relations and employment law department of the Philadephia law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP, (215) 665-3032. His practice is restricted to the representation of management in labor and employee relations. He co-authored "Securities Industry Leads the Way in Arbitrating Employment Disputes," in the New Jersey Law Journal of August 12, 1996, and "Violence in the Workplace," in the Philadelphia Enterpriser of September/October 1998. He lectures frequently on labor and employment topics such as workplace violence and effective employee management. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Georgia and is a member of the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York and the District of New Jersey.
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