As defined by the U.S. Department of Labor, “a workplace violence incident is a verbal, written, or physically aggressive threat or attack intended to intimidate, cause injury or death to others in a place of employment”.
The General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act directs employers to provide a place of employment that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious harm”.
The resources listed below can assist organizations to better understand workplace violence and develop protective measures.
- The Department of Labor Workplace Violence Program provides detailed information about warning signs, preventative measures and response.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Workplace Violence Program provides information on the extent of violence in the workplace, assessing the hazards in different settings and developing workplace violence prevention plans for individual worksites.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Fact Sheet: Workplace Violence provides an overview of the threat of workplace violence and the protections offered by OSHA.
- The FBI Workplace Violence: Issues in Response is a useful and practical guide to implement a proactive workplace violence prevention strategy.
- The FBI Workplace Violence Prevention: Readiness and Response is an article on the causes of workplace violence and steps to help prevent it.