Workplace Violence

Oakbrook Terrace, IL – An online resource center developed by accreditation organization The Joint Commission is aimed at preventing workplace violence in the health care industry.

Albany, NY – New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) has signed legislation that will elevate assaults on the state’s utility workers, transit station and terminal cleaners, and process servers – formerly misdemeanors – to Class D felonies.

San Francisco – Fifty-two percent of employers have updated or implemented a “zero tolerance” workplace violence prevention policy in response to mass shootings at U.S. workplaces in recent years, according to the results of a survey conducted by labor law firm Littler Mendelson.

Washington – A number of labor unions are calling on OSHA to create a standard aimed at preventing workplace violence in the health care and social services industries.

Chicago – The American Medical Association is calling on OSHA to require health care employers to implement programs intended to prevent workplace violence.

Washington – Assaults on national forest and range workers increased significantly in 2015, according to watchdog group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

Washington – Simple changes to the store environment can help convenience store owners protect their employees from work-related violence, NIOSH researchers claim in a recent blog post.

Washington – Threats of physical violence from students can result in teachers becoming discontented with the profession – and sometimes quitting it altogether, according to a newly released report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the National Center for Education Statistics.

Washington – Congressional Democrats are urging OSHA to pursue a rule on preventing workplace violence in the health care industry, following the publication of a Government Accountability Office report that concludes the agency could do more to help keep health care workers safe on the job.

Washington – Citing “an epidemic of workplace violence” against bus drivers and other transit operators, a group of organizations is calling on the Federal Transit Administration to issue a final rule that would strengthen protections against physical assaults and other attacks within the industry.