Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence Menu Workers' Rights

Risk Factors

The following references provide information on risk factors and scope of violence in the workplace to increase awareness of workplace violence:

Federal Agency Guidance
  • Workplace Violence, 1993-2009. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, (March 29, 2011). Presents data from 1993 through 2009 from the National Crime Victimization Survey estimating the extent of workplace violence in the United States.
  • Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) - Current and Revised Data. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Includes the category "Assaults and Violent Acts".
  • Workplace Violence Prevention Strategies and Research Needs. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2006-144, (September 2006). Summarizes discussions that took place during Partnering in Workplace Violence Prevention: Translating Research to Practice, a landmark conference held in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 15-17, 2004.
  • Violence in the Workplace - Preventing It; Managing It. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), (March 1, 2004). Shares expertise of representatives from law enforcement, private industry, government, law, labor, professional organizations, victim services, the military, academia, mental health as well as the FBI on this important issue. This monograph resulted from a June 2002 symposium hosted by the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime entitled "Violence in the Workplace."
  • Violence on the Job. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2004-100d, (2004). Provides streaming video resources that discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work, and taking strategic action to keep employees safe. Based on extensive NIOSH research, supplemented with information from other authoritative sources. Transcript also available.
  • Violence Occupational Hazards in Hospitals. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-101, (April 2002). Increases employee and employer awareness of the risk factors for violence in hospitals and provides strategies for reducing exposure to these factors.
  • Workplace Violence: Issues in Response. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, (2002). Developed from the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime's "Violence in the Workplace" symposium June 10-14, 2002 as a guide to businesses, small and large, and government in implementing a proactive workplace violence prevention strategy.
  • Sygnatur, EF and Toscano, GA. "Work-related Homicides: The Facts". U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Safety, Health and Working Conditions Compensation and Working Conditions Article, (Spring 2000). Provides information on work-related homicides, including information about the perpetrators, demographics of the decedents, and other relevant facts about these events, such as the time of the incident, the location, and the type of establishment in which the homicide occurred. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of these incidents are not crimes of passion committed by disgruntled coworkers and spouses, but rather result from robberies.
  • Stress... at Work. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 99-101, (1999). Highlights knowledge about the causes of stress at work and outlines steps that can be taken to prevent job stress. Defines job stress as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury. Explores a combination of organizational change and stress management as the most useful approach for preventing stress at work.
  • Handbook on Workplace Violence Prevention and Response. U.S. Department of Agriculture, (October 2001). Addresses prevention of workplace violence, employer and employee responsibilities, identification of potentially violent situations and response to violent incidents.
  • Violence in the Workplace. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Current Intelligence Bulletin 57, (July 1996). Reviews what is known about fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace to determine the focus needed for prevention and research efforts. Reports that each week in the United States, an average of 20 workers are murdered and 18,000 are assaulted while at work. These staggering figures should not be an accepted cost of doing business in our society-nor should death or injury be an inevitable result of one's chosen occupation.
  • Preventing Homicide in the Workplace. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 93-109, (May 1995). Reports workplaces with the highest rates of occupational homicide were taxicab establishments, liquor stores, gas stations, detective/protective services, justice/public order establishments (including courts, police protection establishments, legal counsel and prosecution establishments, correctional institutions, and fire protection establishments), grocery stores, jewelry stores, hotels/motels, and eating/drinking places. Taxicab establishments had the highest rate of occupational homicide--nearly 40 times the national average and more than three times the rate of liquor stores, which had the next highest rate.
  • Occupational Violence. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic. Reports that an average of 1.7 million people were victims of violent crime while working or on duty in the United States each year from 1993 through 1999 according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Includes NIOSH publications as well as other U.S. government occupational violence links including a psychological first aid manual for mental health providers.
State and Local Guidance