Preventing and Responding to Workplace Violence

Workplace violence has been a focus for both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) for several years, as it continues to be one of the leading causes of occupational injuries in the country every year. While OSHA has no specific standard for workplace violence, the OSH Act's General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized serious hazards, and OSHA has instituted enforcement actions under its General Duty Clause after incidents of workplace violence. OSHA has also initiated a rulemaking to address workplace violence in specific industries.
California has taken the lead in implementing the first workplace violence rule in the country for general industry, requiring nearly all California employers (unless they fall under one of the limited exemptions) to establish, implement, and maintain an “effective” written workplace violence prevention plan, investigate every incident workplace violence (broadly defined), create and maintain violent incident logs, conduct annual employee and supervisor training, and abide by additional recordkeeping requirements. This general industry rule follows the Cal/OSHA regulation on Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care.
The EEOC has also prioritized ways to effectively prevent and address workplace violence, particularly in the form of workplace harassment. And outside of OSHA and the EEOC, employers can also be held liable for workplace violence through other claims such as negligent hiring and supervision.
Participants in this webinar learned:
• What constitutes workplace violence
• EEOC and OSHA enforcement priorities
• Legal risks associated with workplace violence
• Updates on federal OSHA workplace violence rulemaking
• California’s New Workplace Violence law
A webinar from Conn Maciel Carey LLP.
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