The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reports that some 2 million workers in the United States are victims of workplace violence each year — and no workplace is immune from these events. Reports of workplace shootings and other acts of workplace violence have been especially prevalent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
As all employers have no doubt learned during the past year, OSHA requires covered employers to provide a safe workplace, free from recognized hazards that cause or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees. OSHA covers most private sector employers regardless of size in all 50 states. During the pandemic, the focus has been on eliminating the risk presented by COVID-19 in the workplace. However, the same legal obligation that requires employers to address the risks presented by COVID-19 also requires employers to assess and reduce the risk of workplace violence.
OSHA cautions on its website that “[e]mployers who do not take reasonable steps to prevent or abate a recognized violence hazard in the workplace can be cited.” New Hampshire state law also mandates that all employers with 15 or more employees must adopt a written safety program that addresses, among other things, “work methods and procedures that will protect the life, health, and safety of the employees.”
In the sample program posted on the New Hampshire Department of Labor website, a section is included for employers to address its plan for addressing the risk...
After a weekend of demonstrations culminated in France’s most violent night of unrest, the mood in the country remained tense on Monday (October 19) as the government announced partial curfews in ...