Confronting Danger in the Workplace.

• Position: Brief Article

Preventing workplace violence and creating safe and secure business environments are two of the most important issues facing employers, Kimberly Gee Stith, a labor and employment lawyer from Houston, Tex., told the American Bar Association Tort and Insurance Practice Section. She cited data from several sources that demonstrate the depths to which violence has entered into corporate America:

* One out of six employees has been so angry in the workplace that he or she has wanted to strike a coworker.

* Homicide is the leading cause of workplace death for women and workers under the age of 18.

* Each week, 18,000 persons are assaulted at work.

* Of all workplace incidents of homicide, 75% involved a shooting. More than 80% of the victims died from gunshot wounds.

* Nonfatal workplace assaults result in more than 876,000 lost workdays and $16,000,000 in lost wages annually.

* Of violent workplace episodes, 82% occurred during robberies or attempted robberies.

Stith noted the absence of statutes aimed at combating workplace violence, but says that recent state and Federal legislation indicates an increased governmental interest in the situation. Businesses are facing recent judicial trends that find employers liable for acts of violence due to negligence in hiring, supervision, retention, and misleading letters of recommendation or other...