Chapter 26 - § 26.1 • INTRODUCTION

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

§ 26.1 • INTRODUCTION "Deeds of violence in our society are performed largely by those trying to establish their self-esteem, to defend their image, and to demonstrate that they are significant. Violence arises not out of power, but out of a perception of powerlessness." Rollo May.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared in 2002 that workplace violence can strike anywhere, and that no one is immune. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Fact Sheet on Workplace Violence (2002), available at www.osha.gov. In January 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that between 2006-2010, an average of 551 work-related homicides occurred each year in the United States. Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities: Fact Sheet — Workplace Homicides from Shootings (U.S. BLS, Jan. 2013). A total of 77 of the homicides in 2010 were multiple-fatality homicide incidents. About four out of every five workplace homicide victims in 2010 were men. A substantial difference exists when relatives and other personal acquaintances are the assailants versus robbers or other strangers. Only 3 percent of homicides committed by relatives or personal acquaintances have male victims; 39 percent are women. Males are 72 percent of homicide victims of robbers or other strangers. Assailants with no known personal relationship to their victims accounted for about two thirds of workplace homicides. Id. Homicides accounted for approximately 9 percent of all fatal occupational injuries in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/workplace-homicides.htm.

According to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, of the 4,547 fatal workplace injuries that occurred in the United States in 2010, 506 were workplace homicides. U.S. Department of Labor, Safety and Health Topics, Workplace Violence (OSHA), available at www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html. Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace. Id. Nearly 2 million Americans report having been victims of workplace...