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…)

The second of five installments of the Employment Screening Resources (ESR) Background Check Trends of 2011 Review features the number eight trend, offshoring Personally Identifiable Information (PII) outside the U.S., and the number seven ranked background check trend of the year, workplace violence prevention. To view previous installments of the ESR Background Check Trends of 2011 Review, visit Part 1.

• Number 8 ESR Background Check Trend for 2011: Increased Privacy Concerns Over Offshoring of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
• Number 7 ESR Background Check Trend for 2011: More Workplace Violence Prevention Education Helps Protect Employers and Employees.

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