ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................. 460 Employers’ Legal Obligation to Provide a Safe Workplace:
Statutory Overview.............................................................................. 461 Judicial Developments ........................................................................ 462 Employee Eligibility for Workers’ Compensation Benefits .............. 463 Worker’s Compensation as an Exclusive Remedy............................. 463
Employer Duty to Warn ......................................................... 465 Domestic Violence............................................................................... 466
Tort Theories................................................................................................. 467 Negligent Hiring, Negligent Retention, and Negligent Supervision... 467
Negligent Hiring...................................................................... 467 Avoiding Liability .................................................................... 468 Negligent Retention/Negligent Supervision .......................... 468 Avoiding Potential Liability .................................................... 469
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress ..................................... 469 Avoiding Liability: An Oregon Case ...................................... 469
Liability for Inaccurate Job References .............................................. 469 Avoiding Liability Altogether ................................................. 470
Premises Liability Based on Employer’s Failure to Provide Adequate Security.................................................................... 470 Foreseeable Risks and Civil Liability ..................................... 471
Contract Theories of Liability ............................................................ 471 Employer’s Failure to Obtain a Restraining Order........................... 471 Employer Civil Liability to Employee Perpetrators .......................... 472
Protections Afforded to Employee under ADA .................... 472 Employer Defenses to ADA Claims Raised by
Violent Employees.................................................... 474 ADA Analysis When Evaluating Termination of Violent or
Potentially Violent Hire .......................................................... 476
Liability to Third Persons for Violent Acts Committed by Employees ....................................................................................... 476 The Respondeat Superior ................................................................... 476 Liability to Third Parties..................................................................... 477 Threats of Violence and “Good Cause” for Discipline
or Termination ........................................................................ 477 Discharge in Light of Collective Bargaining Agreement............................ 478 Proactive Measures: Employer Steps to Prevent Possible Episodes of
Workplace Violence ............................................................................. 479 Bibliography .................................................................................................. 482 About the Contributing Authors ................................................................. 485
Every day in America, three people die at work as a result of a violent act (1996 National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries). Violence is the leading cause of death for women at work (de Becker, 1997). Of managers surveyed in 1999, 57% reported that a violent incident had occurred in their workplace between January 1996 and July 1999 (Society for Human Resource Management, 1999*) and there were about 2 million assaults and threats of violence against Americans at work each year according to the U.S. Department of Justice (1997). Workplace violence includes fights, assaults, harassment threats, stalking, telephone harassment, inappropriate communications, graffiti, and rape. Experts agree that violent episodes at work, no matter what the degree of injury, can have a significant adverse effect on employees resulting in elevated stress levels, fear, and reduced productivity. The problem is widespread and can occur in any workplace setting from the post office to the law office. Crime in the streets has now become crime in the suites.
