Editor’s Message


In the January edition, Jim Cawood contributed an excellent article on ‗Emerging Issues in Threat Management.‘ If you missed it you definitely want to read this article


which is right on point. I owe Jim a big apology for calling him Jim Underwood in my last Editor‘s Message and thank him for his graciousness in pointing out my error.


In this edition, I would like to highlight Jean Haertl, CEO Safety and Respect at Work, LLC. Jean established the position of Director of Workplace and Domestic Violence Prevention for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2001. She helped to draft the workplace violence executive order for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed by Governor Swift in 2001, the Executive Order on Domestic Violence signed by Governor Paul Cellucci in 1997 and the domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking executive order signed by Governor Deval Patrick in 2007. She has been a driving force addressing workplace and domestic violence for 25 years.


As you can see we featured Pat Biles‘ book, Halt the Violence, on this month‘s cover because we want to provide support to the significant effort Pat has undertaken to gain national recognition for ‗Workplace Violence Awareness Month‘ in April. This is one more step in helping to heighten the awareness regarding workplace violence and move in the direction of eradicating violence in our workplaces. Please lend your support to Pat by support this initiative and the not-for- profit organization she leads the Workplace Violence Prevention Alliance.


Two important articles I want to bring to your attention which bridge the blurred lines between workplace violence and terrorism that occurs in a work setting are ‗What Risks Are You Not Willing to Take?‘ which is a question every senior manager should ponder and ‗Improvised Explosive Devices.‘ It is unfortunate that we need to have this dialogue about our workplaces, but it is a sign of the times in which we live.


Thanks again for joining us this month, stay alert out there and stay safe.


Barry


What Risks Are You NotWilling to Take?


The decisions made by terrorists to attack a specific target at a certain time are influenced by their emotions and world views. This makes it almost impossible to accurately measure the likelihood of such attacks and in turn, point out high or low risk exposure for such incidents.When dealing with man-made threats, we enter the realm of human behavior, which is erratic, unpredictable and complex.When it comes to political, personal and religious motives for an attack we lack the methodological crystal ball to evaluate risk exposure. Heads of schools, CEOs and officials who ask me to determine their level of risk exposure to terrorist or violent attacks are answered with the following question: What risks are you not willing to take?


Read more


Guns in the Workplace Versus Employer’s Property Rights


There is a growing trend of state laws prohibiting employers from banning firearms on employers‘ property. At the state level, more and more states appear prepared to enact laws that would ban an employer‘s right to prohibit firearms on their property. The extent of an employer‘s liability and what they should do to minimize workplace violence is not clear.


Read more DECISIONPOINT


This column is designed to help sharpen your judgment in providing valuable advice regarding how to handle incidents of aggression.


Is an employer’s posting of its lawful workplace violence policy an “unfair labor practice?”


The Situation:


On about March 26, 2014, three days after a union election, a manager at a healthcare center posted a memorandum entitled ―Teamwork and Dignity and Respect‖ accompanied by the employer‘s preexisting Workplace Violence Prevention Policy, on the employee bulletin board. Along with a copy of the Policy, the memorandum included a discussion of recent ―threats‖ that were allegedly made during the union election process.


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