Workplace Violence Prevention Guide

Workplace violence prevention requires a comprehensive program that includes a written policy, a risk assessment, employee training, reporting mechanisms, response procedures and post-incident support. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that workplace violence accounts for roughly 20% of all fatal occupational injuries in the United States. In Canada, workplace violence and harassment prevention is explicitly mandated by federal and provincial legislation, including Ontario's Bill 168 amendments to the OHSA. This is not a niche concern - it affects healthcare workers, retail employees, social services staff, educators and workers in every sector. This guide provides the framework employers need to prevent, prepare for and respond to workplace violence.

When people hear "workplace violence," they often picture the extreme - an active shooter scenario. But workplace violence exists on a spectrum that starts with verbal threats, intimidation and harassment, escalates through physical confrontations and at its worst, results in homicide. The vast majority of workplace violence incidents never make the news, but they devastate individual workers, destroy team morale and expose employers to significant legal and financial liability.

The organizations that get this right don't wait for a crisis. They build prevention into their culture before violence ever occurs.

Tracking and documenting workplace violence incidents, threats and near-misses is essential to identifying patterns. Make Safety Easy's incident reporting system allows confidential reporting from any device, with automatic routing to the appropriate manager.

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Types of Workplace Violence

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) classifies workplace violence into four categories. Understanding these types is essential for risk assessment.

Type	Relationship to Workplace	Examples
Type 1: Criminal Intent	Perpetrator has no relationship to the workplace	Robbery, trespassing, assault during a break-in. Common in retail, gas stations, convenience stores.
Type 2: Customer/Client	Perpetrator is a customer, patient, or service recipient	Assaults by patients in healthcare, aggressive customers in retail, violent inmates in corrections. The most common type.
Type 3: Worker-on-Worker	Perpetrator is a current or former employee	Bullying, intimidation, threats, physical assaults between coworkers. Includes supervisor-to-worker and peer-to-peer.
Type 4: Personal Relationship	Perpetrator has a personal relationship with the victim	Domestic violence that follows the victim to the workplace. Stalking, harassment, or assault by a current or former intimate partner.

Each type requires different prevention strategies. A retail store's primary concern is Type 1 (criminal intent), while a hospital emergency department faces predominantly Type 2 (patient/client) violence. Your risk assessment should identify which types are most relevant to your workplace.

Regulatory Requirements

United States

OSHA does not have a single comprehensive workplace violence standard. However, employers are still obligated to address workplace violence under:

• The General Duty Clause (Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH Act): Employers must provide a workplace "free from recognized hazards" that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. OSHA has cited employers under this clause for failing to address known workplace violence risks.
• OSHA's Workplace Violence Prevention Guidelines: Industry-specific guidance documents exist for healthcare and social services, late-night retail and other high-risk sectors.
• State-level requirements: California's SB 553 (effective 2024) requires virtually all employers to have a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan. Other states have enacted or are considering similar legislation. Check your state's specific requirements.

Canada

Canadian workplace violence legislation is more explicit:

• Ontario (OHSA, Part III.0.1): Bill 168 requires employers to develop workplace violence and harassment policies, conduct risk assessments, provide training and establish reporting and investigation procedures.
• Federal (Canada Labour Code, Part II): The Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations require federally regulated employers to develop prevention policies, conduct workplace assessments and provide training.
• British Columbia (WorkSafeBC): Policies on violence in the workplace require employers to assess risks, implement prevention measures, train workers and establish reporting procedures.
• Alberta, Quebec and other provinces: All have workplace violence provisions within their OHS legislation, though specific requirements vary.

Conducting a Violence Risk Assessment

A risk assessment identifies the specific violence risks your workplace faces and forms the foundation of your prevention program. This isn't a one-time exercise - reassess annually and whenever conditions change.

Factors to Evaluate

• Work environment: Is the workplace isolated? Poorly lit? Does it have secure entry points? Are there areas with restricted visibility?
• Cash handling: Do workers handle cash, especially during late-night hours?
• Public interaction: Do workers serve the public, including individuals who may be in crisis, intoxicated, or experiencing mental health emergencies?
• Mobile or remote work: Do workers travel to client homes, work alone, or operate in isolated locations?
• History of incidents: Review past incidents, threats, near-misses and complaints. Patterns predict future events.
• Worker demographics: Certain roles face elevated risks - healthcare workers, social workers, corrections staff, late-night retail employees, taxi drivers, delivery drivers.
• Domestic violence spillover: Does the workplace have mechanisms to identify when an employee may be at risk from a personal relationship?

Risk Assessment Tools

Use a structured approach. Walk through the workplace with a cross-functional team. Interview workers - they know the risks better than anyone. Review incident records, workers' compensation claims involving violence and security reports. Rate each risk by likelihood and severity, then prioritize controls accordingly.

Building a Workplace Violence Prevention Policy

Your policy is the anchor of your program. It must be written, communicated to all employees and enforced consistently. Essential elements:

Policy Statement

A clear, unambiguous declaration that violence, threats, intimidation and harassment are prohibited in the workplace. This applies to all employees, contractors, visitors, clients and customers. Include a definition of what constitutes workplace violence - covering physical assault, threats (direct and indirect), verbal abuse, intimidation, bullying and harassment.

Scope

Define where the policy applies. Best practice: anywhere work is conducted, including off-site locations, client homes, vehicles, remote work settings and company-sponsored events.

Roles and Responsibilities

• Employer/management: Provide a safe workplace, conduct risk assessments, implement controls, investigate incidents, provide resources
• Supervisors: Enforce the policy, respond to reports, identify warning signs, escalate concerns
• Workers: Follow procedures, report threats and incidents, participate in training, do not engage in violence or retaliation
• JHSC/safety committee: Participate in risk assessments, review incidents, recommend improvements

Reporting Procedures

Workers must know exactly how to report threats, incidents and concerns - and they must feel safe doing so. Provide multiple reporting channels: direct supervisor, HR, a confidential hotline, or a digital reporting tool. Emphasize that reporting will not result in retaliation. Ontario's OHSA explicitly requires that workers be able to report incidents or threats of workplace violence.

Investigation Process

Every report must be investigated promptly, thoroughly and confidentially. Define who conducts the investigation, what it includes, timelines for resolution and how findings are communicated. Investigations should follow the same rigor as any workplace incident investigation.

Consequences

Clearly state the disciplinary consequences for violating the policy, up to and including termination and referral to law enforcement. Equally important: state the consequences for retaliation against anyone who reports in good faith.

Training Your Workforce

Training is where your policy comes to life. Every employee needs baseline training; specific roles need additional, specialized content.

All-Employee Training

• The workplace violence policy and what it covers
• How to recognize warning signs and escalating behavior
• How to report threats, incidents and concerns
• De-escalation techniques for confrontational situations
• Emergency response: what to do during an active threat (Run-Hide-Fight or equivalent framework)
• Where to find resources - Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), crisis hotlines, domestic violence support

Supervisor/Manager Training

• How to receive and respond to reports of threats or violence
• Identifying behavioral warning signs in employees (changes in behavior, threats, expressions of hopelessness, fascination with violence)
• Conducting initial threat assessments and when to escalate
• Managing situations involving domestic violence that affects the workplace
• Documentation requirements for threats and incidents
• Legal obligations and liability considerations

High-Risk Role Training

Workers in healthcare, social services, corrections and public-facing roles need scenario-based training specific to the violence types they're most likely to encounter. This includes hands-on de-escalation practice, safe disengagement techniques, and - where appropriate - physical safety training.

Deliver training using toolbox talks, dedicated sessions and refreshers. Make Safety Easy's toolbox talk tools include workplace violence topics that can be delivered and documented in under 15 minutes.

Engineering and Administrative Controls

Training alone is insufficient. Physical and procedural controls reduce violence risk at the source.

Engineering Controls

• Access control: Locked doors, key card entry, visitor sign-in systems, security barriers
• Surveillance: CCTV cameras in parking lots, entrances and high-risk areas (with appropriate signage)
• Lighting: Well-lit parking areas, entrances and exterior walkways
• Workspace design: Escape routes for workers in interview rooms, reception areas with barriers, panic buttons
• Cash control: Drop safes, limited cash on hand, signage stating limited cash available

Administrative Controls

• Staffing: Avoid lone worker situations in high-risk environments. Use buddy systems for home visits and late-night shifts.
• Scheduling: Minimize high-risk activities during periods of reduced staffing
• Client/patient protocols: Flag known high-risk individuals in scheduling systems. Establish behavioral contracts where appropriate.
• Check-in procedures: Workers traveling alone or visiting client locations should check in at regular intervals
• Visitor management: All visitors sign in, are escorted and wear identification

Responding to a Workplace Violence Incident

When violence occurs, a prepared response saves lives and minimizes harm. Your response plan should address:

Immediate Response

1. Ensure safety. Evacuate, shelter in place, or implement your active threat protocol depending on the situation.
2. Call emergency services (911). Provide the location, nature of the threat, number of victims and description of the perpetrator.
3. Provide first aid to injured persons when it is safe to do so.
4. Secure the scene. Prevent further access. Preserve evidence.
5. Account for all employees. Use your muster point procedures to confirm everyone is safe.

Post-Incident Actions

• Investigate the incident following your standard investigation process. Digital incident reporting ensures nothing is lost in the chaos following a violent event.
• Provide support. Connect affected workers with EAP services, counseling and crisis support. Trauma responses are normal and may not appear immediately.
• Communicate transparently. Workers need to know what happened (to the extent appropriate), what the organization is doing in response and what has changed to prevent recurrence.
• Review and update your prevention program. Every incident is an opportunity to identify gaps in your risk assessment, controls and response plans.
• Document everything. Centralized document management ensures investigation reports, corrective actions and policy updates are stored securely and accessible for regulatory inquiries.

Warning Signs and Threat Assessment

Most workplace violence events are preceded by observable warning signs. No single indicator predicts violence with certainty, but patterns of behavior should trigger concern and a formal threat assessment:

• Direct or veiled threats against coworkers, supervisors, or the organization
• Intimidating or bullying behavior that escalates over time
• Expressions of hopelessness, desperation, or having "nothing to lose"
• Fascination with weapons or previous incidents of workplace/school violence
• Significant changes in behavior, mood, or work performance
• Paranoid or delusional thinking
• Increased absenteeism or isolation from coworkers
• Known domestic violence situations where the perpetrator has made threats related to the workplace

Encourage a "see something, say something" culture. Workers should feel empowered - and obligated - to report concerns without fear of being wrong or facing retaliation. A threat assessment team (which may include HR, security, management, EAP and legal counsel) can evaluate reports and determine the appropriate response.

Special Considerations: Domestic Violence in the Workplace

Domestic violence does not stay at home. Perpetrators follow victims to work. They show up in parking lots. They call the front desk. They know the victim's schedule and location. Employers have both a moral and legal obligation to address this risk.

• Train supervisors to recognize signs that an employee may be experiencing domestic violence
• Provide information about community resources (shelters, legal aid, crisis hotlines)
• Work with the affected employee to develop a workplace safety plan - modified parking, schedule changes, security escorts, screening calls
• Be aware that restraining orders may exist and plan accordingly
• Ontario's OHSA requires employers to take "every precaution reasonable in the circumstances" to protect a worker from domestic violence that is likely to occur in the workplace

Measuring Program Effectiveness

Track these metrics to evaluate whether your prevention program is working:

• Incident frequency and severity - Are violence-related incidents trending down?
• Reporting rates - An increase in reporting often indicates improved trust, not an increase in violence.
• Training completion rates - Is everyone trained? Is refresher training current?
• Response times - How quickly are reports investigated and resolved?
• Corrective action closure - Are identified gaps being addressed?
• Employee perception surveys - Do workers feel safe? Do they trust the reporting system?

Workplace violence is preventable when organizations commit to a proactive, comprehensive approach. Make Safety Easy gives you the tools to manage incident reporting, deliver violence prevention training through toolbox talks and maintain the documentation that demonstrates your commitment to a safe workplace. Book a demo or explore our pricing to learn more.

Learn more about how Make Safety Easy serves the healthcare and workplace violence industry with purpose-built safety tools.