OSHA Guidelines on Workplace Violence Policy and Prevention


OSHA Guidelines on Workplace Violence Policy and Prevention : Are you ready with a Plan ?.

Current news reports of active shooter situations provide a stark reminder: employers, regardless of size or industry, must have an action plan for responding to a threatening or violent situation in the workplace. Yet, many employers do not even have a workplace violence policy, let alone anticipation or response plans.
While federal law does not specifically require employers to institute a workplace violence policy or response plan, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSHA’s) “general duty” clause does require employers to furnish a workplace: free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.
If an company has notice of the risk of violence in the workplace like: information of prior acts of workplace violence, threats, intimidation, or other indicators of the potential for violence in the workplace, and the employer does not device adequate safeguards, then the employer takes on the threat of OSHA investigating and potentially citing and fining the employer for breaching the general duty clause.  Thus, proactively instituting a workplace violence policy and prevention plan may assist an employer in defending against an OSHA claim that an employer breached the general duty clause.
Employer’s general duty under OSHA to provide a workplace “free from documented hazards,” instituting a workplace violence policy and prevention plan before an incident of workplace violence occurs may reduce the impact of negligent hiring, negligent retention, and negligent supervision claims against an employer.  Employers should review their hiring practices, including background check and reference check procedures, to screen applicants for criminal records and prior history of violence or abuse, while bearing in mind that such background and reference checks must be completed in accordance with federal, state, and local laws.

Plan to be implemented:

  1. Train your employees as per the OSHA Guidelines
  2. Have Mock Training in place
  3. Identify threat prospects.
  4. Have a exit plan in case of active shooter incident

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