1. NYS Department of Labor
NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC EMPLOYER WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS LAW
NYS Department of Labor

2. NYS Department of Labor
THE PROBLEM
Job-related homicides were the third leading cause of death for all workers.
The #1 cause of occupational death for all female workers.
The #2 cause of occupational death for male workers.
NYS Department of Labor

3. Number of Violent Acts Against Government Workers in New York State
2003
2004
Assaults & Violent Acts Against NYS
Employees
1290
1900
Assaults & Violent Acts Against Local Government Employees
3600
3240
Statistics specific to NYS
NYS Department of Labor

4. New York State Workplace Violence Prevention Act
The New York State Public Employer Workplace Violence Prevention Act, section 27-B of the labor law, was passed June 7, 2006 and became effective March 4, 2007.
The final regulations, NYCRR Part 800.6, were promulgated on April 29, 2009 giving employers 120 days – until August 27, 2009 – to comply.
The date the Act becomes effective was extended from 120 days to 270 days after it was passed or March 4, 2007
A sample program was completed and is available.
NYS Department of Labor

5. PURPOSE AND INTENT
Ensure the risk of workplace violence is evaluated by affected public employers and their employees
Design and implement protective programs to minimize the hazard of workplace violence to employees

6. WHAT IS WORKPLACE VIOLENCE?
Workplace violence is any physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse occurring in the work setting
NYS Department of Labor

7. Workplace Violence Includes:
Beatings
Stabbings
Suicides
Shootings
Rapes
Near-suicides
Psychological traumas
Threats or obscene phone calls
Intimidation
Harassment of any nature
Being followed, sworn or shouted at
Some of the examples listed here are very obvious like the Beatings and Stabbings, but lets take a closer look at suicides and attempted suicides. The traumatic impact these events can have on your employees can be immediately devastating and long lasting, for example when someone plans on wounding or killing someone else with the expectation of being killed, this phenomenon is known in the law enforcement community as suicide by cop, in addition many workplace shooting end in suicide by the offender.
NYS Department of Labor

8. NYS Department of Labor
Examples
Verbal threats to inflict bodily harm; including vague or covert threats
Attempting to cause physical harm; striking, pushing and other aggressive physical acts against another person
Many times, a violent act is preceded by a threat. The threat may be explicit, specific or vague, spoken or unspoken but it occurred. Detecting, investigating and intervening on these threats can often be the single most important key to preventing a physical act of violence.
NYS Department of Labor

9. Who Commits Workplace Violence
Violence by strangers
Violence by customers or clients
Violence by co-workers
Violence by personal relations
The first step in identifying hazards within your workplace is recognizing the different sources or in this case the ways WPV can occur in your work setting.
V by strangers, for instance criminals who have no connection to the workplace but enter to commit a crime or robbery.
V by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates or anyone else your workplace provides a service to.
V against coworkers, supervisors, or managers by a present or former employee
V committed in the workplace by someone who doesn’t work there, but has a personal relationship with an employee, could be a domestic partner or an abusive spouse.
NYS Department of Labor

10. NYS Department of Labor
WHAT IS A WORKPLACE
A workplace may be any location either permanent or temporary where an employee performs any work-related duty
NYS Department of Labor

11. NYS Department of Labor
WORKPLACE (cont’d)
This includes, but is not limited to, the buildings and the surrounding perimeters, including the parking lots, field locations, clients’ homes and traveling to and from work assignments
NYS Department of Labor

12. WHAT IS A PUBLIC EMPLOYER
The State, any political subdivision of the state, public authorities, public benefit corporations and any other governmental agency or instrumentality thereof.
Except, Public School Districts, BOCES, New York City Public Schools, County Vocational Education and Extension Boards are exempt.

13. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
WHAT THE RULE REQUIRES
Policy statement – to demonstrate management commitment and employee involvement
Risk evaluation and determination
Workplace Violence Prevention Program
Employee training
Recordkeeping
The rule requires these items.
The elements that are required to be in writing regardless of the number of employees are:
Policy Statement
List of the risk factors identified in the workplace assessment
A lesson plan for employee training
Documents required by the record keeping
A log of workplace violence incidents 13

14. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Policy Statement
The policy statement briefly describes the employer’s workplace violence prevention policy, what the employer deems to be violence, how to report an incident and how to submit complaints.
The policy statement also outlines the level of participation by the Authorized Employee Representative.
The Policy Statement must be written and it must be posted where notices to employees are normally posted.
The policy statement is a document that briefly states the employer’s workplace violence
prevention policy and their incident alert and notification policies for employees to follow
in the event of a workplace violence incident.

15. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Employee Involvement
Employers must provide for participation by Authorized Employee Representatives:
During the evaluation of the workplace
During the development of the written Workplace Violence Prevention Program
During the annual record and program review
An Authorized Employee Representative is an employee authorized by the employees or the designated representative of an employee organization.
NOTE: The employer may NOT appoint the employee representative of their choosing.
The rule requires employers to obtain input from authorized employee representatives. Although this participation is required, the employer has the ultimate responsibility for compliance with this rule and the rule does not provide any veto power to the employee representative. 15

16. Risk Evaluation & Determination
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Risk Evaluation & Determination
The Employer must evaluate the workplace to determine the presence of factors which may place employees at risk of workplace violence.
The employer is responsible for assessing the employees 'work environment for the risk factors (hazards) they are actually or potentially exposed to. Throughout the risk evaluation process, the group should document its findings. These records may be used to guide the development of the written WVPP and also to document the risk assessment process and its conclusions. The following are key methods of conducting the risk evaluation:

17. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Record Examination
The employer must examine injury reports and any other available records to identify patterns of workplace violence injuries in particular areas of the workplace or incidents which involve specific operations or specific individuals.
A review of the employee accident and illness statistical information may help identify trends and the types, causes, and severity of injuries. Public employers in New York State are required to maintain the SH 900 Log of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses. This may be a useful source of information. Some public employers maintain their own databases, as well as various types of incident reporting databases. Additionally, where physical assaults are a frequent occurrence, evaluating workers’ compensation experience and costs may be useful.

18. Administrative Risk Factors
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Administrative Risk Factors
The employer must assess relevant policies, work practices, and work procedures that may impact the risk of workplace violence. Some examples are:
Direct contact with the public, patients, defendants or inmates
Working late at night or early in the morning
Handling cash, checks or valuables
Working alone or in a small group
Visiting client locations alone
Being out of direct communication with a supervisor or other employees
The employer must assess relevant policies, work practices, and work procedures that may impact the risk of workplace violence. This review should look at appropriate staffing for hazardous work areas such as Psychiatric wards and emergency rooms in hospitals or other workplaces where Security Officers or minimum staffing levels are part of the safety program. Identify when policy enforcement is a part of the safety program (jail, prisons juvenile facilities) and failure to enforce such policies encourages instances of violence. There must also be policies on how employees whereabouts and safety are accounted for and what they are allowed to do alone. Visitation policies may also be relevant. In high risk settings, policies relevant to the care and treatment of client, patients and inmates may be part of the risk evaluation.

19. Evaluation of the Physical Environment
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Evaluation of the Physical Environment
The employer, with the participation of the Authorized Employee Representative, must evaluate all of the workplaces to determine the presence of factors which may place employees at risk of workplace violence. Some examples are:
Access to workspaces (offices, cubicles, etc.)
Building security systems and hardware
Lighting in parking lots and isolated areas
Access to money, valuables or weapons
Areas where security concerns were previously reported
The employer, with the participation of the Authorized Employee Representatives, must evaluate the workplace to determine the presence of factors which may place employees at risk of workplace violence.
After evaluation of the records a physical walkthrough must occur with the Authorized Employee Representatives. Pay particular attention to areas where records have indicated problems and try to identify why they were problem areas. The results of the walkthrough must be recorded. Tools and the means to capture findings must be included in the employer’s description, in the written program, of how the physical walkthrough will be documented. All worksites must be examined, a sampling is not acceptable

20. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
The Program
A Workplace Violence prevention Program is an employer program designed to prevent, minimize and respond to any workplace violence, the development and implementation of which is required by Article 2, Section 27-B of the New York State Labor Law. Employers with 20 or more permanent full time employees must develop a written program

21. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Program Elements
A list of the risk factors identified in the workplace examination
The methods the employer will use to prevent workplace violence incidents
A hierarchy of controls to which the program will adhere as follows: engineering controls, work practice controls, and finally personal protective equipment
The methods and means by which the employer will address each specific hazard identified in the workplace evaluation
A system for reporting workplace violence incidents in writing
A written outline or lesson plan for employee training
A plan for program review and update on at least an annual basis

22. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Employee Training
Initial employee training and annual employee retraining are required.

23. Employee Training Requirements
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Employee Training Requirements
WVP rule requirements
Risk factors that were identified in the risk evaluation and determination
Measures employees can take to protect themselves from the risks and measures the employer has taken to protect employees
How to obtain a copy of the written Workplace Violence Prevention Program
The training program must be comprehensive and identify the actions the employer has taken to address hazards that were identified in the risk assessment.
The training each employee receives must be specific to the risks identified for that employee’s work.
The measures that employees can take to protect themselves my include specific measures that the employer has implemented. These may include measures such as incident alert and notification procedures, appropriate work practices, emergency procedures, and use of security alarms and other devices. 23 23

24. NYS Department of Labor
Recordkeeping
Reports of work injuries from assaults
DOSH Log of Injury and Illness (SH 900)
Incidents of abuse, verbal attacks or aggressive behavior
Records of all training programs
Once you get things established at your workplace you will have even more tools available to you when reviewing your risk factors or the methods you choose to help prevent or eliminate workplace violence.
NYS Department of Labor

25. Recordkeeping and Evaluation
Recordkeeping and evaluation of the workplace violence prevention program are necessary to determine overall effectiveness and identify deficiencies or changes that should be made.
You should treat your written Workplace Violence Prevention Program as a living document, situations change or risk factors can be different from one office to the next. Each year you should take the opportunity to review the effectiveness of your program, look at any acts or occurrences of violence within your workplace how was it dealt with, what can you do to improve upon things and what can be done in the future to prevent these types of incidents from occurring?
NYS Department of Labor

26. NYS Department of Labor
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Guide for Public Employers How to Comply with Workplace Violence Regulations 12 NYCRR Part 800.6
NYS Department of Labor

27. Program Development Process
Develop and implement a workplace violence prevention policy statement
Conduct a risk evaluation and determine what risk factors are present
Develop a workplace violence prevention program
Provide information and training to employees on workplace violence
Develop a system to record workplace violence incidents and maintain those records
NYS Department of Labor

28. NYS Department of Labor
PESH ACTIVITIES
Enforcement: WVPP covered during most PESH inspections
Consultation: Provides program development and training assistance
Complaints: Management must be notified of the complaint in writing and given reasonable time to respond before filing a complaint with PESH
NYS Department of Labor

29. NYS Department of Labor
MORE INFORMATION
NYS Department of Labor

30. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
Questions?