Jorge Delucca, MS, MA, CAIH Compliance Assistance Specialist Oklahoma City Area Office Workplace Violence: The OSHA Perspective

Statistics Between 1992 and 2010 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries reported 13, 827 workplace homicide victims. Workplace homicides averaged 700 per year Each week in the US, an average of 20 workers are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted while at work. (Source: NIOSH Violence in the Workplace Current Intelligence bulletin 57)

August 20, 1986 Memorial 1986 Edmond, Oklahoma 14 employees were shot and killed and 6 wounded at the Edmond, Oklahoma, post office by Patrick Sherrill, a postman who then committed suicide with a shot to the forehead Source: Wikipedia

Rates of homicides per 100,000 workers Rates at postal facilities are lower than other facilities Highest rate: 2.1 in retail Next highest: 1.66 in public administration (includes police officers) Postal workers: 0.26 per 100,000 workers (but in 1993 Congress found 13% of workplace homicides were at postal facilities by current or former employees) Source: Wikipedia

Workplace Violence: A case Study Of organizations victimized by occupational homicide, 38% were government agencies, most often federal, with U.S. postal service the most frequently victimized. Robert F. White University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2002), page 6

Profile of Perpetrators Male, employee (41%) or ex-employee (46%) at or approaching middle age, familiar with firearms, intent on revenge, lethal in his intentions, and quite capable of murdering several individuals in the short course of this crime. (Kelleher, 1997) From Workplace Violence: A Case Study, (White, 2002), page 6

Risk to Public Employees Data collected during showed that while public employees were 18% of the workforce, they were represented in 30% of the incidents of workplace violence. (White, 2002), page 7

OSHA Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Workplace Violence CPL , effective Date: September 8, 2011 “Workplace violence has remained among the top four causes of death at work for over fifteen years…”

Types of Workplace Violence 1.Type 1—Criminal Intent: people enter the workplace with the intent to commit a robbery or other crime 2.Type 2--Customer/Client/Patients: violence against employees by persons to whom employer provides a service 3.Type 3--Co-worker: against co-workers, supervisors or managers by current or former employees

OSHA—Identified High-Risk Industries 1.Healthcare and Social Service Settings i.e., Psychiatric facilities, mental health clinics, drug abuse clinics, pharmacies, etc. 2. Late-Night Retail Settings i.e., convenience stores, liquor stores, gas stations

OSHA Inspections 1.Inspection shall be considered if complaint from industry identified by OSHA as high risk industry 2.Inspection shall be considered during programmed inspections if potential for workplace violence in the industry has been recognized

OSHA Inspections Inspection generally shall not be considered in response to co-worker or personal threats of violence. Handled as non-formal. Area Director may refer to local Police, EEOC, National Labor Relations Board or OSHA’s Office of Whistleblower Protection CPL , page 7

Criteria for Initiating Inspections Known risks to consider (NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 57)  Working with unstable or volatile persons in certain healthcare, social service or criminal justice settings  Working alone or in small numbers  Working late at night or early morning hours  Working in high-crime areas

Criteria for Initiating Inspections  Guarding valuable; property or possessions  Working in community mental-health clinics, drug abuse treatment clinics, pharmacies, long-term care facilities  Exchanging money in financial institutions  Delivering passengers, goods or services  Taxicabs

Criteria for Initiating Inspections OSHA shall initiate inspections where there is death one or more employees or hospitalization of three or more employees (catastrophe)

OSHA Fact Sheet on Workplace Violence “violence or the threat of violence against workers. It can occur at or outside the workplace and can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assault and homicide…” “Some 2 million Americans are victims of workplace violence each year.”

What can employers do to protect employees? “The best protection employers can offer is to establish a zero tolerance policy” Provide safety education Secure the workplace: video surveillance, extra lighting, alarm system systems, minimize access by outsiders (id badges, electronic keys, and guards)

What can Employers do following an incident? Encourage employees to report and log all workplace violence incidents Report all violent incidents to local police Inform victims of their legal rights to prosecute perpetrators Discuss incident with staff members

What can employers do following an incident? Offer stress debriefing and post-traumatic counseling services Investigate all violent incidents and threats and institute corrective action

What can employees do to protect themselves? Learn to identify and avoid violent situations Alert supervisors of incidents Report violent incidents to local police, if not done by management

Case Studies-A long Time Ago at a Workplace in Oklahoma 1.Employee #1 in an argument told employee #2: “I have a gun at home with a bullet with your name on it” Employee #2 informed management and employee #1 was fired 2.Employee got in an argument with his supervisor. After work, the employee followed the supervisor as he was driving home. Supervisor informed management and employee was fired

Resources 1. NIOSH Violence in the Workplace; Current Intelligence Bulletin OSHA Workplace Violence Fact Sheet OSHA.gov/publications

Questions? OSHA Oklahoma City Area Office (405)