Immediately after the violent act

Immediately after an assault occurs, an employer should focus first on providing for the medical and psychological needs of all affected employees. Other immediate steps include:

• Report the incident to the local police department and support law enforcement activities (for example, crime scene investigation; interviewing witnesses, victims and others).
• Secure work areas where disturbances occurred.
• Account for all employees and others and ensure the physical safety of those remaining in the area as soon as possible.
• Provide for site security and ensure that no work area is left short-staffed while others assist the victim or help in securing the area.
• Quickly assess the work area, if it was disturbed or damaged during an incident, to determine if it is safe.
• Provide critical incident debriefing to victims, witnesses, and other affected employees (these conversations must be strictly confidential).
• Provide accurate communication to outside agencies, media and law enforcement.

The post trauma plan should focus activities first on meeting the immediate medical and psychological needs of employees as necessary. Employees may also need the services of an employee assistance program or other counseling services.

Provisions for follow-up after medical and psychological treatment, medical confidentiality, and protection from discrimination must be addressed in the plan to prevent the victims of workplace violence from suffering further loss. The plan should also address ways to reduce financial losses to the company caused by absence, lost productivity, and workers’ compensation claims.

Immediate debriefings. All affected employees should be included in a debriefing so that the cause of the violence and expectations can be discussed, a plan of action can be addressed, and those needing further counseling can be identified.

The EAP may approach these responsibilities in different ways, depending on the size and experience of its staff. In some cases, internal EAP resources may be sufficient, but in others, additional staffing will be necessary. EAP staff who do not have expertise in traumatic incident counseling may wish to develop in-house expertise or keep close at hand the phone numbers of resources to contact should an incident occur. Potential sources of additional help, for example, private contractors, community mental health resources, university or medical school programs, might be explored.

Since management bears the brunt of responsibility after a violent incident, and can find itself dealing with unfamiliar challenges under high stress, the EAP can be very helpful in facilitating an optimal response. It can provide managers with information on traumatic events and can assist them in analyzing the situation and developing strategies for the organization's recovery. An effective EAP needs to be familiar not only with post-disaster mental health care, but also with management practices that facilitate recovery and with other resources which may need to be mobilized.

Support Prosecution of Offenders

To prevent further incidents from occurring and to show their support of the victims, employers should support prosecution of offenders. Accommodate employees after a violent incident in order for them to make court appearances and work with the prosecution. Cooperate with law enforcement authorities to help identify and prosecute offenders through the use of any and all means at your disposal, such as “Crime Stoppers,” rewards, etc.

Administrative Actions to Keep an Employee Away from the Worksite

In situations where a disruption has occurred on the job, or where there is a belief that the potential for violence exists, a supervisor may need to keep an employee away from the worksite to ensure the safety of employees while conducting further investigation and deciding on a course of action.

Immediate, short-term actions

• Place employee on excused absence (commonly known as administrative leave). Placing the employee in a paid, non-duty status is an immediate, temporary solution to the problem of an employee who should be kept away from the worksite. It may also be a good idea to offer the employee the option to work at home while on excused leave if possible.

• Detail employee to another position. This can be an effective way of getting an employee away from the worksite where he or she is causing other employees at the worksite to be disturbed. However, this action will be useful only if there is another position where the employee can work safely and without disrupting other workers.

Longer-term actions

Supervisors are sometimes faced with a situation where there is insufficient information available to determine if an employee poses a safety risk, has actually committed a crime, or has a medical condition which might make disciplinary action inappropriate.

• Indefinite suspension. An indefinite suspension is an adverse action that takes an employee off-duty until the completion of some ongoing inquiry, such as an company investigation into allegations of misconduct. Companies usually propose indefinite suspensions when they will need more than 30 days to await the results of an investigation, await the completion of a criminal proceeding, or make a determination on the employee's medical condition.

• Indefinite enforced leave. This action involves making the employee use his or her own sick or annual leave (after the 30-day notice period with pay) pending the outcome of an inquiry.

Disciplinary Actions

• Reprimand, warning, short suspension, and alternative discipline. These lesser disciplinary actions can be used in cases where the misconduct is not serious or intervention may correct the problem behavior. They are an excellent means of dealing with problem behavior early on.

• Removal, reduction-in grade, and long-term suspension. Be sure to coordinate with legal staff to ensure compliance with local, state, and federal law.

Disabilities as a Defense Against Alleged Misconduct

For a detailed discussion of all these points, see EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Americans with Disabilities Act and Psychiatric Disabilities, EEOC number 915.002, 3-25-97. The guidance is available on the Internet at http://www.eeoc.gov/, or a copy can be obtained by calling the EEOC Publications department at (800)669-3362.

Assignment: Let's continue our look at the incident from Module 5. Read the following incident scenario and complete the assignment. The Incident An employee called a member of the company crisis team for advice, saying that a coworker was picking on her, and expressing fear that something serious might happen. For several weeks, she said, a coworker has been making statements such as, "You actually took credit for my work and you're spreading rumors that I'm no good. If you ever get credit for my work again, that will be the last time you take credit for anybody's work. I'll make sure of that." She also said that her computer files have been altered on several occasions and she suspects it's the same coworker. When she reported the situation to her supervisor, he tried to convince her that there was no real danger and that she's blowing things out of proportion. However, she continued to worry. She said she spoke with her union representative who suggested she contact the agency's workplace violence team. The agency's response plan calls for involvement of Employee Relations, Security and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in cases involving threats. Immediately following the report to the response team, the Security Officer contacted the female employee to assist her in filing a police report on the threat and to discuss safety measures that she should be taking. The victim was also referred to the EAP, where she received brief counseling and educational materials on handling severe stress. An investigation was immediately conducted by an investigator from the security department. In her statement, the female employee repeated what she had reported to the supervisor earlier about the threat. In his statement, the male employee stated that, on the day in question, he had been upset about what he felt were some underhanded activities by the female employee and his only recollection about the conversation was that he made a general statement like, "You'll pay," to her. He stated that this was not a threat, just an expression. The investigation showed that the employee had several previous incidents of intimidating behavior which had resulted in disciplinary actions. The employee brought in medical documentation that said he had a psychiatric disability of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which caused his misconduct, and he requested a reasonable accommodation. What disciplinary actions, if any, do you think the employer took in this scenario?

It is important to conduct a group debriefing after a serious incident of violence for immediate co-workers in how to communicate with the victim/co-worker who is re-entering the job after absence. To alleviate anxiety and reduce misinformation, keep the lines of communication open between labor and management. Assign a person or persons to be responsible for dealing with the media, if necessary.

The final word

Module Review Quiz 1. (Fill in the blanks) Immediately after an assault occurs, an employer should focus first on providing for the ___________ and __________ needs of all affected employees. Choose onephysical, psychologicalemotional, physicalmedical, psychologicalfinancial, medical 2. All affected employees should be included in a debriefing for all of the following reasons, except? Choose oneThe cause of the violence can be discussed.A plan of action addressed.Coordination with local law enforcement agencies.Those needing further counseling can be identified. 3. To show their support of the victims, employers should support prosecution of offenders in all of the following ways except: Choose oneAssist the victim in making court appearances.Assist the victim in working with the prosecution.Cooperate with law enforcement authorities.Allowing the victim to join the protected witness program.Help identify and prosecute offenders 4. In situations where a disruption has occurred on the job, or where there is a belief that the potential for violence exists, a supervisor may need to keep an employee away from the worksite. Choose oneTrueFalse 5. According to the text, why is it important to keep the lines of communication open between labor and management. Choose oneTo alleviate anxietyTo maintain adversarial relationshipsTo control misinformationTo ensure maximum trust

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