DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AT WORK ZONE


Department Of Justice Issues Workplace Domestic & Sexual Violence Policy By Maya Raghu


In November 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice became the first major federal agency to release its final policy addressing domestic and sexual violence and stalking. The policy will affect over 150,000 Department of Justice (―DOJ‖) employees, many of whom are in law enforcement and legal positions, and will impact government contractors as well. The policy can serve as a useful model for public and private


employers contemplating similar action.


Many organizations may assume that an existing ―workplace violence‖ policy, or a workplace violence protocol, is adequate to respond to workplace impacts of domestic or sexual violence or stalking. However, domestic and sexual violence and stalking have distinctive features that must be addressed separately. The DOJ policy contains several important provisions making that distinction clear.


The OSHA and NIOSH define ―workplace violence‖ narrowly in a manner that would not encompass many acts of domestic or sexual violence or stalking that directly affect the workplace. Both definitions only refer to incidents that occur at the workplace or while someone is working; they do not include violence that may have a work association, but does not occur at work.


The Federal government is the nation‘s largest employer, with over 2 million employees, and policies such as the one the DOJ has implemented will have a far reaching impact. In addition, numerous companies work with and place employees within the federal government as federal contractors.


For m ore inf ormation on designing a com prehensiv e workplace v iolence program, see the policy statem ent, f ederal guidance and other resources, av ailable on the W orkplaces Respond website.


Read m ore Keeping Guns Out of Domestic Violence Offenders' Hands


A pilot study by the University of California Davis and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health tracked detectives efforts to identify and disarm individuals with firearms in two Californian counties. Detectives reviewed more than 8,000 restraining orders and linked more than 600 perpetrators to firearms, recovering weapons from 164 offenders. The study demonstrated that intensive screening can help authorities streamline the process of recovering guns from domestic violence offenders barred from owning them.


Read more


Have you seen a really good DVD on worklace violence? implemented a successful training program? Found another tool that is very helpful? Share what you’ve learned to help end violence.


14


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27