According to the FBI, there were 61 active shooter incidents in 2021. That’s about one active shooter incident every six days. The FBI defines an active shooter incident as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.”
This year isn’t that much different as 2022 continues the trend of active shooters. Some of the more recent notable ones this year include the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th and the Topps Friendly Markets shooting in Buffalo, New York on May 14th.
Many of these active and/or mass shooting events occur at a location where people are working, resulting in employees being injured or killed. When these tragedies occur, do the employees have any employment-related rights?
The answer to that question depends on many factors, such as the negligent conduct (if any) of the employer or third parties, injuries sustained, the motivation of the shooter and the type of relief sought by the worker.
Tort Law Remedies
One of the biggest legal remedies available to victims of a workplace shooting is bringing a personal injury lawsuit against the shooter, the employer or any other potentially responsible parties. For example, in addition to suing the shooter and the employer, the employee might sue the private security firm hired by the employer to protect the workplace.
In a personal injury civil suit against a shooter, potential causes of action from the employee include:
A court has ruled that Seo Mi-hwa, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker, and media outlets that reported her interview claiming former National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Standing Commissioner...