1. Workplace Violence Prevention:
Law, Policy, and Program
December 2011

2. Workplace Violence Prevention
Welcome

3. Workplace Violence Prevention
Learning Objectives
• Understand what workplace violence is
• Learn about Workplace Violence Prevention (WVP)
law and regulations
• Be aware of the agency’s risk factors and prevention
efforts
• Identify agency’s written WVP program
• Know how to report incidents of workplace violence

4. Workplace Violence Prevention
Agenda
This program will:
• Review the law and regulations and how they apply to
workplace violence prevention
• Help participants understand the important elements
of the agency’s workplace violence prevention
program
• Help Participants become familiar with agency-specific
documents, such as the workplace violence prevention
agency policy and the workplace violence prevention
program

5. Workplace Violence Prevention
Law and Regulations

6. Workplace Violence Prevention
Law and Regulations
• NYS Labor Law Section 27-b called the Workplace
Violence Prevention Act for Public Employees was
enacted in 2006
• In 2009 NYS Department of Labor (DOL)
implemented regulations called the Public
Employee Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
• Law and regulations are enforced by NYS DOL

7. Workplace Violence
Definition
Any physical assault or act of aggressive behavior
where public employee performs any work-related
duty in the course of his or her employment including,
but not limited to:
1. Attempt or threat (verbal or physical) to cause
physical injury on employee
2. Intentional display of force giving employee
reason to fear or expect bodily harm

8. Workplace Violence
Definition
3. Intentional or wrongful physical contact with a
person, without person’s consent, that entails
some injury
4. Stalking an employee with the intent of causing
fear of material harm to physical safety and
health or employee – such stalking has arisen
through and in the course of employment

9. Workplace Defined
The law defines a workplace as any permanent or
temporary location where an employee performs any
work-related duty in the course of employment.
It specifically excludes an employee’s home even if the
home is the primary workplace.
Examples of agency-specific locations include:
• Metro Center
• Fallbrook
• Conference for work

10. Categories of Violence
Type 1:
Violent acts by criminals, who have no other
connection with the workplace, but enter to commit
a robbery or another crime.
Type 2:
Violence directed at employees by customers,
clients, patients, students, inmates, or any others for
whom an organization provides services.

11. Categories of Violence
Type 3:
Violence against coworkers, supervisors or
managers by a current or former employee.
Type 4:
Violence committed in the workplace by someone
who has a personal relationship with the employee,
such as a boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, or domestic
partner.

12. Impact on You
Take some time to think about a violent or
potentially violent incident in the workplace that
you witnessed, experienced, or happened to
someone you know.
How has this impacted you?

13. Why do we care about verbal and
physical violence in the workplace?
• Employees and customers have a right to a safe and
secure workplace
• Workplace violence can impact employees’ physical
and mental well-being
• Workplace violence interferes with the mission of
the agency

14. Workplace Violence
Prevention Program

15. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
The Labor Law and regulations place responsibility
on the public employer to work with employee
representatives and create a workplace violence
prevention program for the agency.

16. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program - Definition
A workplace violence prevention program is defined
as an employer program designed to prevent, reduce,
and respond to any workplace violence, the
development and implementation of which is required
by Labor Law Section 27-b and the Regulations at
12 NYCRR Section 800.6.

17. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
SUNY Oswego’s workplace violence prevention
program includes:
1. Management commitment and employee
participation
2. Workplace violence prevention policy
3. Risk evaluation and determination
4. Methods to prevent workplace violence
5. Incident reporting system
6. Employee training program
7. Annual review

18. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
1. MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT AND EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION
Our agency formed a team comprised of labor and
management participants:
Fred Matteson Eric Foertch Mary DePentu
Mike Flack Christina Briglin Andy Salvagni
Joe Scanlon Mark Sierson Mary Hoben
Becky Kempney Marta Santiago Joyce Jaskula
Tim Gainey
Our team : reviewed incident data, evaluated the
work environment, suggested preventive measures,
and reviewed the training material.

19. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
2. AGENCY POLICY STATEMENT
• This policy statement contains:
 purpose of the program
 definition of violent behavior
 employees and student obligations to report
incidents of workplace violence
 college obligation to implement and enforce the
policy

20. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
2. AGENCY POLICY STATEMENT
Copies of the agency policy statement can be found:
• http://www.oswego.edu/administration/human_re
sources/info.html, or
• At these locations:
 Human Resource Office
 Judicial Affairs Office
 University Police

21. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
3. RISK EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION
• The law and regulations require a risk evaluation
to determine the factors that potentially place
employees at risk
• Evaluation of risk factors has at least these three
components:
 Review of workplace violence records
 Assess work policies that impact workplace
violence risk
 Evaluation of physical environment

22. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
3. RISK EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION
The following risk factors were identified by our
agency when this risk evaluation and determination
was conducted:
• Offices that deal with money
• Offices that deal with irate students or customers
• Allowing people to enter building without access
card

23. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
3. RISK EVALUATION AND DETERMINATION (CONTINUED)
•Unlocked access to unused classrooms and storage
areas
•Employees who work early or late schedules and/or
weekend hours
•Cluttered, unorganized and unsafe storage areas
•24 hour study rooms

24. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
4. METHODS TO PREVENT WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Based on the risk evaluation results, our agency
created specific prevention plans to address the
unique problems confronting our workplace. These
plans are part of this agency’s workplace violence
prevention program.

25. What Can I Do?
Using your experiences and based on what you
have learned so far, consider the following:
• Could anything have been done differently?
• What can I do to make my environment more
safe?

26. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
4. METHODS TO PREVENT WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
• If an incident of workplace violence occurs in your
presence:
 FIRST, remove yourself and others from danger
or harm
 If can’t escape the building, lock and barricade
yourself in a safe location as far away from the
violent acts
 SECOND, call University Police for help 312-5555
or 911

27. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
4. METHODS TO PREVENT WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Measures employees can take to protect themselves
from the identified risks and procedures implemented
by this agency to protect employees:
• Create a “buddy system” when working late hours
or unusual shifts, or when going to parking lots late at
night
• Alert University Policy if working in building during
non-working hours

28. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
• Report any unsafe conditions or areas to
your supervisor or to the Health and
Safety Office at 312- 3157
• Locate and review the “Green”
Emergency Preparedness Procedures
booklet distributed to each department
by University Police

29. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
• Report all violence complaints to the Director
of Human Resources, 312-3702 or Judicial
Affairs if the complaint involves a student, 312-
3378
• The law requires a Workplace Violence Incident
Report be filed

30. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
Under the law, written notice to a supervisor
shall be provided by an employee or authorized
employee representative who believes that:
• A serious violation of the employer’s workplace
violence prevention program exists
or
• That a workplace violence imminent danger exists

31. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
However, written notice to a supervisor is not
required under the law where:
• Workplace violence imminent danger exists to the
safety of a specific employee or the general health
of a patient
and
• The employee reasonably believes in good faith
that reporting to a supervisor would not result in
corrective action

32. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
A supervisor is defined by the law and regulations as:
• Any person in an employer’s organization who has
the authority to direct and control the work
performance of an employee,
or
• Any person who has the authority to take
corrective action regarding the violation of a law,
rule, or regulation

33. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
After referral to the employee’s supervisor and after a
reasonable time to correct the matter, if it has not
been resolved and the serious violation or imminent
danger still exists, the employee may request an
inspection by the Department of Labor (DOL)
Commissioner by notification to the Commissioner in
writing.

34. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
5. REPORTING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
• The notice to the Commissioner must describe in
detail the reason for the notice and must be signed
by the employee or employee’s representative (i.e.,
union representative).
• If you are the person filing the notice, you can
request anonymity; your name will be withheld.
• The employer cannot retaliate against any
employee who exercises rights under this law.

35. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
6. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE TRAINING
The law and regulations require:
• Training about the employer’s Workplace Violence
Prevention Program
• Annual training on workplace violence
• Additional training whenever there are significant
changes to the agency’s program

36. Workplace Violence Prevention
Program
7. ANNUAL REVIEW
The agency conducts an annual review of the WVP
incident reports and other relevant data to:
• Identify possible patterns of workplace violence
• Review effectiveness of corrective measures
• Update the agency’s WVP program if necessary

37. Risk and Responsibility
Based on what you have learned about the law and
our agency’s workplace violence prevention
program reflect on the following questions.
• What are the major workplace violence risk
factors faced by our agency?
• What responsibility do you as an agency
employee have with regard to workplace violence
prevention?

38. Workplace Violence Prevention
Resources
• NYS DOL Safety and Health Website
www.labor.state.ny.us/workerprotection/safetyhealth/DOSH_INDEX.shtm
• PEF Health and Safety Website
www.pef.org/healthandsafety/index.htm
• CSEA Occupational Safety and Health Website
www.csealocal1000.org/osh.php
• OSHA
www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html
• NIOSH
www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence
• FBI
www.fbi.gov/publications/violence.pdf

39. Workplace Violence Prevention
If you have any questions, please call:
Human Resources at 312-3625
or
STUDENT JUDICIAL AFFAIRS AT 312-3378
OR
UNIVERSITY POLICE AT 312-5555

40. Funding and Copyright Statement
This curriculum was developed with New York State funding and is
intended exclusively for training New York State employees. Any other
use of these materials is prohibited without the express permission of
the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations. The language contained
within this program is based on law and regulations. New York State
agencies are encouraged to add agency-specific information in the
designated locations throughout the program.
The Workplace Violence Prevention program is jointly funded through
the negotiated agreements between New York State and the Civil Service
Employees Association, Inc. and the negotiated agreement between
New York State and the Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO. Program
administration and additional funding are provided by the Governor’s
Office of Employee Relations.
Copyright © May 2010 Governor’s Office of Employee Relations