WORKPLACE VIOLENCE TODAY


The “Bystander Approach” to Violence Prevention: Part One By Patricia D. Biles, Executive Director, Alliance Against Workplace Violence


“The man had been banned from the artsy Seattle cafe for acting out, but he showed up anyway and tried to place an order. After the barista declined to serve him, he stood up, took out a gun and began shooting as people scrambled for cover.


One man tried to stop him. Grabbing the only weapons at hand — bar stools — he tossed them at the gunman, even as the man aimed at him, Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said Thursday after


reviewing surveillance video of the massacre. The tactic created enough of a delay in the shooting that two or three other customers managed to escape.”


The above article describes a “bystander intervention,” a concept that I recently learned a lot about at a conference presented by Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) at Northeastern University, Boston. I’m sure if I research the literature, I will find many more examples of brave persons who intervened in a violent or potentially violent situation in a workplace. Although the conference I attended focused primarily on the prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault in other environments, “bystander intervention” has important implications for preventing violence in the workplace.


To read more click here *The above image is from NIOSH publication: Violence on the Job, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/


INTERNATIONAL NEWS Could You Be Liable For Workplace Violence? Ontario’s OHSA Says So


Imagine a situation where your employee is seriously injured by an outside party … A subcontractor? An employee’s spouse? Their friend? Your supplier? Many questions might initially pop into your head. How did it happen? What do I do? And given Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act workplace violence provisions (formerly Bill 168), what does this mean for employer liability?


The Occupational Health and Safety Actdefines “workplace violence” as:


· The exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause · physical injury to the worker


· An attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the · worker


· A statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force · against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker


“Workplace harassment” is defined in the law as “engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.”


An employer or supervisor is required to take all the necessary steps to limit the chances of workplace violence and harassment from happening!


At a mock trial at the recent Partners in Prevention Convention the following hypothetical, yet very realistic, case was examined. The following is a summary of the events that came to pass.


To read more click here


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