Safety

26 Tips to Prevent Violence in Your Workplace

Your company is responsible for employee behavior

Your company has a common-law duty to exercise reasonable care when hiring individuals who may present a threat of injury to the public. Likewise, you have a duty to protect employees, customers, clients, and visitors from employees whom you know (or should know) could pose a risk.

If your company fails to do so, the consequences could be tragic - and costly. For example, a jury awarded $3.5 million against a railroad corporation that failed to warn a supervisor of a subordinate's known violent propensities. Another jury awarded $2.5 million against a municipality for failing to evaluate a utility worker's past criminal record. Companies have been held liable for:

• Negligent hiring of employees who are unqualified to perform the job, or have criminal records
• Negligent retention of drivers who had previously shown a pattern of drug and alcohol abuse
• Negligent supervision of unsafe or dangerous employees
• Negligent failure to warn employees or supervisors of other employees' known or suspected dangerous propensities

The 26 tips in this guide will help you reduce the risk of violent incidents in your workplace. They were developed in consultation with Erik J. Belanoff, Esq., an associate of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

Start with these Seven Precautions

1. Conduct thorough pre-employment screening. Check a prospective employee's references thoroughly, including his or her complete employment history, gaps in employment, criminal record history, and driving record (where applicable).
2. Conduct psychological profile testing in an effort to screen out employees with a propensity for violent behavior.
3. Conduct drug testing to screen out individuals who are current users of illegal drugs.
4. Implement a written policy that addresses what happens to employees who threaten co-workers or others.
5. Maintain good communications with your employees. Establish a confidential “hotline” for employees to report concerns and troubling incidents. Implement an “open door” policy and schedule meetings where employees can air their grievances. Conduct opinion and attitude surveys to learn how employees feel about the work environment and company programs.
6. Establish an employee assistance program (EAP) to help employees deal with stress and other problems. Your health insurance carrier may be able to help you with this.
7. Formulate a policy to ensure that terminated employees are treated in a humane and dignified manner. Provide outplacement counseling and severance pay to help them while they are seeking other employment. Such counseling can calm the anger that might otherwise be directed toward the company, former supervisors, or colleagues.

Take these Eight Security Measures

In addition to the preventive actions noted above, these security measures can help minimize incidents of workplace violence:

1. Institute a policy for workplace access by the general public. Establish procedures for barring terminated employees, changing passwords, collecting keys and voiding security passes.
2. Conduct a security audit to determine if additional locks, alarms, or surveillance cameras will enhance workplace protection.
3. Require all employees, regardless of position with company, to show picture identification each and every time they enter the building.
4. Institute a workplace search policy to solidify your company's right of access to all areas of your facilities. This can be effective in detecting illegal drugs in the workplace
5. Train employees to recognize suspicious activity, and inform them who to notify in the event of an emergency.
6. Implement a “duty to warn” policy, whereby employees must warn superiors, security personnel and human resources representatives about suspicious workplace activity or problematic incidents or situations.
7. Conduct safety drills and inform employees how they should act if someone has a weapon in the workplace.
8. Determine in advance who will provide emergency treatment to victims in the event of a violent incident. Decide who will notify the authorities, speak to the media, and conduct an investigation.

Watch for these 11 Telltale Signs of Troubled Employees

They will help you detect, and possibly help, a troubled employee before he or she resorts to violent activity:

1. Bragging about owning or being proficient in the use of weapons
2. Threatening co-employees, or exhibiting an “everyone is against me” attitude
3. Talking about past incidents of violence
4. Increased mood swings
5. Signs of increased alcohol or drug abuse
6. Poor workplace relationships
7. Decreasing productivity, or inconsistency in work performance, e.g., alternating periods of high and low productivity
8. Excessive tardiness or use of sick leave
9. Repeatedly violating company rules or policies
10. Concentration problems, becoming more accident-prone
11. Showing poor health/hygiene

Take Care not to Violate Individul Right

As you take these precautions, be aware that state and federal laws govern nearly every aspect of screening, testing, monitoring, and searching employees. For example, all testing should be conducted in accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. Your test questions should not violate an individual's right to privacy, or delve into their religious beliefs, sexual orientation, or sexual practices. It's a good idea to have an attorney review your policies and any pre-employment testing you may want to implement.

Additional Resources and Information

With ADP Screening and Selection Services, an employer can log onto a website and enter a job applicant's information. ADP will verify the applicant's social security number, dentify counties of residence, check for felonies in current or past counties of residence, conduct a credit check and verify the applicant's driving license. It can also confirm college/trade school attendance, certifications such as CPA or Series 7, and check with prior employers to ask specific questions on your behalf. Job fit assessment testing is also available.

For more information, visit www.adp.com and click “Screening & Selection Services.” Or call ADP at 1 (800) 225-5237. The ADP Institute for Educational Excellence offers informative seminars on legal aspects of hiring and firing. Call 1-800-588-5030, or visit www.ieeseminars.adp.com.

Article from The ADP Institute for Educational Excellence - www.ieeseminars.adp.com