Description
Every employer in the nation should be sensitive to the issues raised by workplace violence. In California, employers are required to address the subject of workplace violence in their mandatory Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). They should also have policies and procedures to protect their employees. The Workplace Violence Safety Act establishes additional rules. The Act now enables employers to seek temporary restraining orders and injunctions to protect employees who are victims of violence or threats of violence. At the same time, employers must balance concerns about negligent hiring, supervision, and retention against competing legal responsibilities under the Ban the Box Rules, the Americans With Disabilities Act, as well as the privacy and confidentiality laws. In this publication, Attorney Richard J. Simmons of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP provides a practical and useful review of the laws in the field, the obligations of employers, and the concerns that every workplace now faces.
Among the numerous topics addressed are the following:
- CAL-OSHA Rules
- Applicant Screening Techniques
- Rules And Forms For TROs
- Workplace Violence Safety Act
- High-Risk Occupations
- Special Health Care Guidelines
- Disability Discrimination Issues
- Mandatory Changes To IIP Plans
- Violence Prevention Strategies
- Sample Forms And Policies
- Sample IIP Program
- ADA Issues
- Negligent Hiring And Retention
- Confidentiality Concerns
- Statistical Concerns
- Injunctions
- Complaint Procedures
- Duty To Warn
- Sample Safety Policy
- Prevention Checklist
Table Of Contents
SECTION 1 WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: THE EMPLOYER’S DILEMMA AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 STATISTICAL INSIGHTS REGARDING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
SECTION 2 EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIABILITIES FOR WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
2.1 OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
2.2 NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION, AND RETENTION STANDARDS
2.3 COMPARISON OF NEGLIGENCE STANDARDS WITH RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR PRINCIPLES
2.4 INJURIES TO EMPLOYEES VS. NON-EMPLOYEES
2.5 TESTING, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
2.6 THE NEED TO UTILIZE EFFECTIVE SCREENING PRACTICES
2.7 CALIFORNIA’S BAN THE BOX LEGISLATION
2.8 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ISSUES
SECTION 3 CAL/OSHA GUIDELINES
3.1 GENERAL OSHA AND IIP STANDARDS
3.2 REASONS FOR WORKPLACE INJURIES
3.3 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF VIOLENCE IN CALIFORNIA ESTABLISHMENTS
3.4 HIGH-RISK OCCUPATIONS
3.5 THE TYPES OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE DESCRIBED BY CAL/OSHA
3.6 MEASURES DESIGNED TO PREVENT VIOLENCE IN THE WORKPLACE
3.7 RECORD-KEEPING AND REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
3.8 THE CAL/OSHA CONSULTATION SERVICE
SECTION 4 VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS
4.1 RECOGNIZING THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
4.2 COMMITMENT BY TOP MANAGEMENT
4.3 VIOLENCE PREVENTION STRATEGIES
4.4 THE POSTAL SERVICE APPROACH TO VIOLENCE PREVENTION
SECTION 5 SPECIAL ISSUES FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
5.1 OVERVIEW OF SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.2 SPECIALIZED RULES FOR LICENSED HOSPITALS
5.3 GUIDELINES FOR SECURITY AND SAFETY OF HEALTH CARE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE WORKERS
5.4 SPECIAL RULES FOR NURSE ASSISTANTS AND HOME HEALTH AIDES
5.5 HOSPITAL STATUTE MANDATING ADOPTION OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLANS
SECTION 6 STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS AGAINST HATE CRIMES, STALKING, AND TRESPASSES
6.1 HATE CRIMES
6.2 CALIFORNIA’S ANTI-STALKING STATUTE
6.3 WORKPLACE TRESPASS STATUTE
6.4 CALIFORNIA CORPORATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY ACT
SECTION 7 RESTRAINING ORDERS AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
7.1 OVERVIEW OF STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS AND PROTECTIONS
7.2 WORKPLACE VIOLENCE SAFETY ACT OF 1994
7.3 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS AND INJUNCTIONS PROHIBITING HARASSMENT
7.4 GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
7.5 DETENTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS
APPENDIX A CAL/OSHA’S LATE NIGHT RETAIL VIOLENCE PREVENTION CHECKLIST
APPENDIX B CAL/OSHA’S WORKPLACE SECURITY PROFILE FOR TYPE I and II EVENTS
APPENDIX C CAL/OSHA INJURY & ILLNESS PREVENTION MODEL PROGRAM FOR WORKPLACE SECURITY
APPENDIX D SAMPLE POLICIES PROHIBITING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
APPENDIX E CASE SUMMARIES REGARDING EMPLOYER LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION, AND RETENTION, PRINCIPLES OF RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR, AND WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
APPENDIX F VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN HEALTH CARE (8 C.C.R. § 3342)
APPENDIX G WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN HEALTH CARE
APPENDIX H LITIGATION FORMS APPROVED BY THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA UNDER C.C.P. § 527.8
APPENDIX I CAL/OSHA GUIDELINES FOR WORKPLACE SECURITY
About The Author
Richard J. Simmons is a Partner in the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in Los Angeles. He represents employers in various employment law matters involving litigation throughout the country and general advice regarding state and federal wage and hour laws, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits, affirmative action, union representation proceedings, and arbitrations. Mr. Simmons received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar and graduated in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He received his J.D. from Berkeley Law at the University of California at Berkeley where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Industrial Relations Law Journal, now the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law.
Mr. Simmons argued the only case before the California Supreme Court that produced a victory for employers and business in 2018. He was recently recognized as the Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal and was inducted into the Employment Lawyers Hall of Fame. He has lectured nationally on wage and hour, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other employment and labor relations matters. He is a member of the National Advisory Board to the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, published by Berkeley Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He was also appointed by the California Industrial Welfare Commission as a member of three Minimum Wage Boards for the State of California.
