In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, ELT has received multiple inquiries about workplace violence prevention.
As in almost all of these situations, there are multiple early warning signs, and proven protocols for reducing risk and saving lives. Today’s shocking news has revealed that the killer had a carefully executed plan, documented in writing and on video. This chilling premeditation is accompanied by mounting evidence that Cho Seung-hui exhibited high risk behavior and clear warning signs on multiple occasions over the past several years.
As our small contribution to assist during this very difficult time, I wanted to post information that is critical to preventing workplace violence. I hope our readers find this seven-step prevention plan helpful.
You will see that our recommendations are weighted in favor of policy and legal responses. However, we include some recommendations from trauma experts and security consultants. We also incorporate some of the guidelines for employers published and compiled in conjunction with the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
A summary of the plan is contained in this post. The full plan is set forth in full in Littler’s handbook, TERROR AND VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE, Third Edition.
Step One: Develop a Management Team
The first step is to make preventing and controlling workplace violence a priority, and to form a management team to develop, review, and implement policies dealing with violence in the workplace. The top levels of management must be aware that the problem of workplace violence is growing and having devastating effects on employees and on employers’ operations. Management must recognize the problem and make a priority of solving it or at least controlling it.
One of the most tangible methods of establishing this as a priority is to designate a management team and provide it with responsibility for identifying and implementing a preventative plan, as well as for being available to deal with incidents as they arise.
Step Two: Implement Education & Training Program
The second step is to conduct an education and training program (live or online) regarding early warning signs of potentially violent behavior, the steps to follow to de-escalate violent situations, and the methods of responding to and investigating incidents of workplace violence.
Under the direction of the management team, supervisors should receive education in and guidelines for preventing violence in the workplace. Experts agree that a potential violent felon in the workplace is likely to be a loner, often angry, paranoid, depressed and fascinated by weaponry. The individual may be undergoing a private stressful situation, such as a death or divorce in the family, which is compounded by workplace difficulties. Supervisors and managers should be instructed in how to deal with individuals who exhibit early warning signals of violence.
When investigating a complaint, the employer must take threats of violence seriously. Do not assume that a disgruntled employee is merely venting or blowing off steam. The employer should also assure the reporting employee that he or she has acted appropriately and will not be subject to retaliation, and that a thorough and prompt investigation will occur. The employer should ask the employee for suggestions to minimize the risk of a violent act occurring.
At the conclusion of the investigation, if appropriate, the employer should report back to the complaining party its conclusions as well as any planned affirmative steps to control the situation.
In addition to training supervisors, employers should have a “zero tolerance” workplace violence policy, which is distributed to all employees. Employers should also consider training employees regarding the signs of potential workplace violence, and how employees should respond. Both the “zero tolerance” policy and the training should emphasize the need for employees to report unusual behavior or suspected violence, with assurances that:
- such reports will be promptly investigated and, if warranted, action taken; and
- the reporting employee will not suffer retaliation for good faith reports.
Step Three: Increase Security Measures
The third step involves increasing security measures and developing a cooperative relationship with local law enforcement authorities. Employers should have in place a comprehensive plan for maintaining security in the workplace. Many employers have developed this as part of an injury and illness prevention program; other employers, based on their location or the nature of their industry, long ago implemented tight security measures to prevent outsiders from having access to the employer’s facilities.
These plans should be reviewed with special attention to the potential of violent behavior on the part of former employees, current employees, or other individuals who threaten to carry domestic violence into the workplace.
In addition to physical changes in the employer’s environment designed to increase employee safety, policies should be reviewed to ensure that they are consistent with and promote the employer’s basic program for addressing and preventing workplace violence.
Finally, the employer should establish a relationship with the local police and sheriff’s department well in advance of any incident. Local law enforcement may prove to be an excellent source for obtaining information on experiences of other companies in the area and of suggestions about possible security precautions to take.
Step Four: Develop Response Procedure
The fourth step entails developing crisis procedures for responding to an incident of workplace violence. No matter how effective the management team is in educating managers and supervisors in detecting early-warning signals of possible violent behavior and in defusing threatening situations, there are no guarantees against workplace violence. Some of the nation’s most responsible employers, who have sophisticated procedures for preventing violence, have nonetheless experienced occasional incidents of workplace violence.
Accordingly, the planning process demands the development and practice of crisis procedures in preparing for incidents of workplace violence.
Step Five: Use Judicial Resources
The fifth step is to consider using the courts to prevent and redress incidents of workplace violence. State law may provide a procedure for obtaining a court order that prevents an alleged perpetrator from gaining access to the intended victim. In addition, most states provide legal avenues for the detention and psychiatric evaluation of perpetrators of violence if there is probable cause to believe that the perpetrator is dangerous to himself or others.
Although employers often distribute photographs of a dangerous employee after obtaining a restraining order or after threats are made, circulating such photographs creates a risk of potential claims of invasion of privacy and defamation. State statutes may also prohibit circulating photographs. To reduce the risk of liability, an employer should not provide photographs of employees or former employees to third parties without consulting with counsel. If photographs are distributed to personnel, those employees receiving photographs should be instructed not to release the photographs to third parties and not to have them in public view.
Step Six: Prescreening & Consistent Enforcement of Workplace Policies
Step six is to prevent workplace violence through the use of proper prescreening, consistent enforcement of workplace rules, and employee assistance programs or other health care resources. Increasingly, employers face an obligation to investigate an employee’s propensity for violence prior to offering employment. The case law in this area has been generated under the tort of negligent retention.
Establishing procedures for background investigation and considering the use of screening tests are essential parts of the overall plan to minimize workplace violence. An employer may even be held liable for failing to perform applicant background checks and employee investigations. Current statutory and common law sources of liability include negligent hiring and retention, negligent failure to warn intended victims, breach of an implied contract or covenant of good faith and fair dealing, occupational safety and health acts, intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, and equal employment opportunity laws.
Aside from the liability issues, employers are likely to gain significant benefits from conducting applicant background investigations. The practical benefits include verifying abilities, skills, qualifications, reliability, and honesty. Careful screening of applicants through background checks also serves to maximize the employer’s investment of resources in hiring and training new employees and to reduce the likelihood of litigation concerning terminations.
Another important element of this step is for the employer to inform its employees of what it considers unacceptable behavior. A model policy prohibiting workplace threats and violence should be developed and implemented after careful review by legal counsel. The employer’s disciplinary procedures, their consistent application, and the willingness to consider alternative solutions, such as employee assistance programs, may decrease the likelihood of workplace violence. Normally, proper and consistent application of effective policies results in an earlier detection of inappropriate behavior and sends a consistent message that such conduct will not be tolerated.
The employer should consider using health care and other resources to provide support for employees. With medical care costs rising, it is increasingly important for employers to be knowledgeable about the resources available to their employees and, where necessary, to guide the employees to make effective use of available health care programs. To cope with the trauma of a crisis situation, employers should consider arranging for trauma specialists to be available to work with the management response team and the occupational physicians in assisting to restore the work function.
In less threatening situations, employers should consider using the company’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP), if one is available. Counseling can be obtained from these programs on an individual basis and, by special arrangement, on a group basis. Employees can be assured that the treatment is confidential and will not become a part of an employee’s personnel records.
Finally, employers must consider their obligations when asked for recommendations about former employees involved in threats and violent conduct at work. Several courts have held that where supervisors do not remain silent when asked for recommendations about their former employees, they owe a duty of reasonable care, both to third parties and to prospective employers. Given this precedent, some legislatures are considering the conditions under which employers are privileged or immune from liability for providing the employment history of a former or current employee. In 2004, Minnesota enacted such legislation. (MINN. STAT. § 181.967. Arkansas law also addresses liability for disclosure of employment records. ARK. CODE ANN. § 25-19-105(c).)
Step Seven: Establish Clear Communication Channels
The final step involves establishing clear internal and external lines of communication to avert and respond effectively to crisis situations. In this step, the management team should establish an internal emergency hotline and instruct personnel to report all incidents of workplace violence.
The emergency hotline should not be a replacement for calling 911. Employees should be instructed that in serious emergencies they should call 911, followed by the company hotline. The person staffing the hotline must have ready access to telephone numbers to contact appropriate representatives in the management team.
The crisis response plan must provide for the establishment of a corporate command center that will serve as the communications hub to direct the actions of the company as they relate to the crisis. The chain of command within and among the management team members must be clearly established and arrangements must be made to ensure unimpeded communication among them. Alternates for each team member should be designated in case the member is injured or is otherwise unavailable to carry out his or her functions. These procedures will facilitate communications among company management, employees, victims’ families, vendors, customers, and the public.
Finally, the employer must carefully consider how information is disseminated to the media. A widely publicized corporate crisis can often be detrimental to the reputation and goodwill of a company. Preplanning on the part of the employer can greatly assist in protecting the employer’s reputation, can affect how the media understands the crisis, and ultimately will safeguard the company against potential liability.