According to the revised numbers reflecting updates to the 2010 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the final count of fatal work injuries in the United States in 2010 was 4,690, up from the preliminary count of 4,547, with 518 of those deaths, up from  506, caused by workplace homicides. These figures mean approximately 11 percent of workplace deaths – more than one out of ten – were attributed to homicide. The revised 2010 CFOI of April 2012 for the preliminary results in August 2011 is available at: http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfoi_revised10.pdf. (more…)

A new report “Violence in the Workplace” by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) shows that while work-related homicides and injuries due to workplace assaults remain well below levels observed in the mid-1990s, homicides committed by “work associates” – a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) category made up of both coworkers and customers – have increased. To view the complete report, visit: https://www.ncci.com/documents/Workplace_Research.pdf. (more…)

To promote a “culture of safety” in health care facilities and help protect health care workers from incidents of workplace violence in the state of Pennsylvania, the ‘Health Care Facilities Workplace Violence Prevention Act’ (House Bill 1992) was recently introduced in the Pennsylvania House, according to a report from HealthCanal.com. HB 1992 – a joint effort by the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals (PASNAP) and State Representative Nicholas Micozzie (R-163) – requires Pennsylvania hospitals and other health care facilities to take steps to protect health care workers from suffering from workplace violence that include security risks assessments, finding ways to create a safer workplace, and helping workplace violence victims report incidents. (more…)

Recognizing workplace violence as a serious occupational hazard that has ranked among the top causes of death in workplaces in recent years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently issued a directive on ‘Enforcement Procedures for Investigating or Inspecting Incidents of Workplace Violence’ that establishes general policy guidance and procedures for OSHA field offices to apply when conducting inspections in response to incidents of workplace violence. The OSHA directive is available at http://www.osha.gov/OshDoc/Directive_pdf/CPL_02-01-052.pdf. (more…)

According to recently released preliminary results of the National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a total of 4,547 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2010, a figure nearly identical to the final count of 4,551 fatal work injuries recorded in 2009. The CFOI program also reported that the rates of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2010 and 2009 were the same: 3.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers. (more…)