Workplace violence: The legal costs can kill you

This paper is an attempt to clarify emerging human resources issues related to workplace violence. The potential criminal conduct of an employee leaves the employer vulnerable to civil lawsuits. In order to avoid and/or prepare for the outcome of such behavior, employers should formulate and enact s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American business review 2003-01, Vol.21 (1), p.84
Main Authors: Jane Hass Philbrick, Marcia R Sparks, Marsha E Hass, Arsenault, Steven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Costs
Criminal investigations
Defamation
Disclosure
Employees
Employers
Employment
Guidelines
Hiring
Human resource management
Liability
Murders & murder attempts
Negligence
Preemployment screening
Security management
Workplace violence
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Summary:This paper is an attempt to clarify emerging human resources issues related to workplace violence. The potential criminal conduct of an employee leaves the employer vulnerable to civil lawsuits. In order to avoid and/or prepare for the outcome of such behavior, employers should formulate and enact stringent employment policies. All potential employees should be subjected to pre-employment screening focused on finding relevant nondiscriminatory information. This screening, although potentially expensive, is far less costly than the possible legal costs associated with a "bad" hire. After the hire, all employees must be carefully supervised and immediate action must be taken if and when an employee demonstrates any violent behavior or other signs of unfitness for duty. Following separation, employers must provide reasonable, truthful references made in good faith under the guidelines discussed.
ISSN:0743-2348