Tag: workplace violence

Steps You Can Take To Prevent Workplace Violence

Workplace violence can range from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and homicide, one of the leading causes of job-related deaths. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of violence in your workplace.

Andy for the Win!

Litigation Value: More fodder for everybody’s negligent retention suit as Dwight shows more predilections toward violence in the workplace, but otherwise, not much litigation expected from this episode – just a host of employee morale issues. I’m sure Robert California will be harassing someone before long, though. Well, friends, the wait is finally over – […]

Adding Insult to Injury: Canada’s ‘Vexatious’ Harassment Laws

By Julia Kennedy and Sean McGurran Bullying isn’t just a problem on the playground anymore. Eventually the bullies grow up and get jobs. Now Canadian employers are seeing more laws dealing with harassment in the workplace. As an example in June 2010, Ontario’s Violence and Harassment in the Workplace law came into effect. It requires […]

Ain’t No Business Like Snow Business

Litigation Value: Not much, yet; but, potentially millions if Dwight goes on a murderous rampage. Is hurling snowballs really that big a deal?! Last week, it was the Cincinnati Bearcats mascot; this week, it’s Dwight Schrute and Jim Halpert — one gets arrested, the other two undergo corrective counseling. Having already addressed the tribulations of […]

Keeping Your Company Afloat after Flood, Oil Spill, Hurricane, or Terrorism

This year’s “perfect storm” of events — from terrorism in Times Square to the dreaded 1,000-year flood in Tennessee to the devastating oil spill off the Gulf Coast — should again remind employers of the need to establish a crisis management and business continuity plan (CMBCP). The time for corporate complacency is long gone. Workplace […]

Don’t Get Tangled Up in Duct Tape: Lessons for Employers

By Ida Martin and Brian Smeenk The City of Mississauga was recently embarrassed by a video of two of its employees duct-taped together. They were squirming around on a table, taped by their hands, torsos, and feet. This was apparently a routine employee hazing. It was leaked to the media by an employee who had […]

Workplace Violence and the ADA

Imagine for a moment the employee who seems just a little off — having disproportionate negative reactions to criticism, having strange obsessions with weapons or death, being unusually hot-tempered, demanding, or controlling, or having other odd or erratic behaviors. Now imagine that despite the employee’s peculiarity, he’s an above-average worker and his job performance is […]

Is Workplace Violence on the Rise?

by Nancy Germond What do the current economic environment and workplace violence have in common? Is there a correlation between the two? The economic downturn has certainly caused a lot of devastation, with many individuals losing their jobs, homes, and savings. Even employees who were lucky to survive their company’s layoffs still face workforce challenges […]