CIL-NET Presents…
Managing Workplace Risks
A National Teleconference & Webinar
April 13, 2011
Presenter:
Melanie Lockwood Herman
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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CIL-NET Presents…
Managing Workplace Risks
A National Teleconference & Webinar
April 13, 2011
Presenter:
Melanie Lockwood Herman
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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What is Risk?
• Uncertainty surrounding and events and their
outcomes that may have a significant effect, either
enhancing or inhibiting:
– Operational performance
– Achievement of aims and
objectives
– Meeting expectations of
stakeholders
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What is Risk Management?
• A discipline for dealing with
uncertainty
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Examples of Risk Management
• Establishing workplace rules that explain what is
expected or required, what is prohibited, and
what consequences apply
• Practicing the plan for evacuating staff and
clients from a facility during an emergency
• Identifying how the organization will spend an
unexpected donation, or how the organization
will cut costs if revenues fall short of
expectations
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Key Workplace Rules and Protocols
• Your staff need to know:
– What is permitted, encouraged and required
– What is discouraged and what is strictly prohibited
• Key rules and policies should be written in
language that all employees can understand.
Using “legalese” is not productive!
• Rules and policies are of little benefit if they too
long, hard to find or easily misunderstood.
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Tips for Improving the
Value of Workplace Rules
• Take the time to explain “why,” not simply “what”
• Invite comments, suggestions and ways to improve
your policies. Be sincere.
• Look for policies that are hard to understand, hard
to follow, or commonly violated. Take action.
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Workplace Risks: Special Topics
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Sexual harassment
Other forms of harassment
Workplace bullying
Workplace violence
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Sexual Harassment…
• Undermines the integrity of the employment
relationship
• Compromises equal employment opportunity
• Hurts morale in the workplace
• Interferes with worker productivity
• Is against the law
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Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment
1. No sexual harassment.
2. No retaliation for truthful reports of sexual harassment.
3. No retaliation for cooperating with any investigation
related to sexual harassment.
4. Prompt reporting of inappropriate conduct is vital to the
implementation of the policy. Employees are urged to
promptly report policy violations.
5. Employees who violate these rules will be subject to
severe disciplinary action, up to and including
termination.
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Types of Sexual Harassment
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Quid pro quo
Hostile work environment
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Quid Pro Quo
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Means “something for something”
Submission to sexual conduct is made either
explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of
employment
Submission to or rejection of sexual conduct is
used as a basis for employment decisions
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Hostile Work Environment
• Sexual, abusive or offensive conduct
• Does not require physical contact
• Severe or pervasive enough to make a
reasonable person of the harassed employee's
gender believe that
– conditions of employment have changed, or
– working environment has become hostile or abusive.
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Broader Definition of
Prohibited Harassment
• Definition: The term “harassment” includes sexual
and racial harassment as well as harassment based on
any other protected classification such as a person’s
color, sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic
heritage, mental or physical disability, age
and/or appearance. Specifically, sexual harassment
may be defined as unwelcome verbal, physical, or
sexual conduct including, without limitations, sexual
advances, demands for sexual favors, or other verbal
or physical conduct of a sexual nature.
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Examples of Prohibited Harassment
• Examples of what may be considered harassment,
depending on the facts and circumstances, include:
– Verbal harassment: derogatory comments regarding a
person’s race, color, sex, sexual orientation, religion,
ethnic heritage, mental or physical disability, age,
appearance, or other classification protected by law;
threats of physical harm; or distribution of written or
graphic material having such effects.
– Physical harassment: hitting, pushing, or other
aggressive physical contact; touching or threats to take
such action; gestures or the display of offensive signs or
pictures.
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Broad Policy Prohibiting Harassment
• Harassment, as defined above, of any employee,
volunteer, client or vendor is strictly prohibited.
• Any employee or volunteer who violates this policy will be
subject to disciplinary action at the discretion of the
Executive Director, including, but not limited to, termination.
Clients or vendors who violate this policy will be subject to
disciplinary action or other measures at the discretion of the
Executive Director, including, but not limited to, ineligibility
for services or termination of the organization’s relationship
with the vendor.
• Prompt reporting of inappropriate conduct is vital to the
implementation of this policy. Employees are urged to
promptly report policy violations.
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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Broad Anti-Harassment Policy, cont’d.
• No employee who makes a good faith allegation of
harassment will be subject to retaliation. Nor will
any employee be retaliated against for participating
in any investigation of harassment in the workplace.
• Allegations of harassment within the workplace are
a very serious matter. Therefore, any employee or
volunteer who knowingly makes false allegations
will be subject to disciplinary action at the discretion
of the Executive Director, including, but not limited
to, termination.
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When is it Workplace Harassment?
• With regard to employees, any action may be
considered harassing if it:
– creates a hostile, intimidating or offensive work
environment;
– unreasonably interferes with an employee’s work
performance; or
– adversely impacts an individual’s employment
opportunities.
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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Managing Harassment Risk
• Take the risk seriously
– Your anti-harassment policy must be “real” to provide an
effective defense to claims
• Think broader than sexual harassment committed by
employees, e.g., Third-Party harassment claims
– Harassment by non-employee
– Harassment of non-employee
– Hostile environment due to relationship of other employees
• Risk Management Strategies?
– Clear policy (broadly worded)
– Training
– Reporting procedures; careful handling of complaints
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Questions and Answers
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Workplace Bullying
• Not typically harassment of a
protected group or person
• May not be “illegal” – but
potential damage is significant
• Indiana Supreme Court recently
upheld a verdict of $325,000 in a
workplace bullying case.
Damages were awarded for
intentional infliction of emotional
distress.
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Definition: Workplace Bullying
• “Workplace Bullying is repeated, health-harming
mistreatment of one or more persons (the
targets) by one or more perpetrators that takes
one or more of the following forms:
– Verbal abuse
– Offensive conduct/behaviors (including nonverbal)
which are threatening, humiliating, or intimidating
– Work interference — sabotage — which prevents
work from getting done
Source: www.workplacebullyinginstitute.org
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Bullying vs. Harassment
• Bullying is “harassment” as the term is commonly
understood, but not necessarily illegal, actionable
harassment.
• Illegal discriminatory harassment occurs in an
estimated 20% of workplace bullying cases.*
• 61% of bullying is same gender harassment.
• Victims often report serious health effects.
Source: www.workplacebullyinginstitute.org
CIL-NET, a project of ILRU – Independent Living Research Utilization
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Could Your Organization Be Liable?
• Healthy Workplace Bill – proposed in 17 states.
Would make it an “unlawful employment practice” to
subject an employee to an abusive work environment.
• Other legal risks?
– Liability under the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s
“general duty clause” to provide a safe workplace.
– Liability for negligent hiring if you knowingly hire
someone who you knew (or should have known) had a
propensity to bully
– Liability for negligent referral if you fail to warn other
employers of an employee’s violent tendencies
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Practical Strategies to
Minimize Risk of Workplace Bullying
• Reference checks during the hiring
process
• Clear policies about appropriate
workplace behavior
• Prompt investigation of
complaints
• Training in conflict resolution; hold
staff accountable
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Workplace Violence
• Workplace violence is defined by the U.S. government
as “violent acts, including physical assaults and
threats of assault, directed toward persons at work or
on duty” (CDC/NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin,
1996).
• Workplace violence covers a broad spectrum of
events ranging from harassment and/or bullying to
homicide.
• Workplace violence is recognized as a significant
occupational hazard in the healthcare and social
services sectors, according to CDC & NIOSH (2001).
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Risk Factors
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Working with volatile clients
Understaffing
Transporting clients
Lack of staff training
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Workplace Violence
• Violence in the workplace is a safety and health issue
• The most extreme form—homicide—is the fourthleading cause of fatal occupational injury in the U.S.
• There were 521 workplace homicides of 4,349 fatal
work injuries in 2009 (3.3% per 100,000 FTE
workers).
• On a positive note, the total fatal work injuries in
2009 is the smallest annual total since the Census of
Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program began.
• During 2009 there were 111 fatalities in health care
and social assistance organizations – 3% of the total.
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Managing Workplace Violence Risk
• Establish a clear policy and make certain that all
employees understand the policy.
• Ensure that no employee who reports workplace
violence faces reprisal.
• Encourage all employees to promptly report
incidents.
• Provide training or the opportunity to share onthe-job experiences about techniques to
recognize escalating agitation, aggressive
behavior or criminal intent.
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Workplace Violence Policy Elements
• Zero tolerance for violent, abusive
conduct, threats of violence, or
violent language
• Requirement that employees report
suspicious or unusual behavior that
could put others at risk
• Emergency procedures in the event
of any serious act of workplace
violence
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Workplace Violence Policy, cont’d.
• Designation of management personnel and/or
security personnel who will be responsible to
investigate complaints of violence and who will
be responsible in the event of an emergency
• Screening of applicants for past criminal conduct
• Preservation of management’s right to review
employee e-mail, voice mail, and computer files
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Workplace Violence Security Analysis
• What environmental and operational risks exist that
might lead to violence?
– Facility design/safety
– Nature of services provided
– Circumstances facing clients and employees
• Reflecting on past experiences that may be helpful in
predicting future events
• Consider an employee questionnaire to determine:
– If employees have been threatened or assaulted in the past
– If employees are aware of other crimes occurring at the
organization
– Whether they are aware of weapons being carried or used
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Workplace Violence Security Analysis,
cont’d.
• The end result:
– Identify existing security measures
– Evaluate familiarity with workplace rules and safety
protocols
– Identify potential need for new controls or
equipment, such as panic buttons, improved lighting,
video surveillance equipment, mirrors at hallway
intersections, or door detectors
– Identify the need for additional training (e.g., conflict
resolution) or updated policies (e.g., keycards must
be used to enter)
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Key Steps in the Wake of an
Incident of Workplace Violence
• Get medical help for injured victims
• Report incident to the police and other
authorities as appropriate
• Secure the premises
• Prepare an incident report without delay
• Consider crisis counseling or a critical incident
stress debriefing for staff and clients
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Safety Training
• Ensure that your staff are aware of security hazards
and procedures for protecting themselves
• Clarify policies, including reporting of incidents and the
consequences for not following policies
• Demonstrate proper use of security measures and
clarity the purpose of policies and control measures
• Uncover concerns and worries that staff may have so
that you can take action
• Make certain that your trainer understands the work
done by trainees
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Recordkeeping
• OSHA Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses
(OSHA Form 300)
• Medical reports of work-related injuries and
supervisors’ reports of recorded assaults
• Records of incidents of abuse, verbal attacks or
aggressive behavior
• Documentation of safety meetings, hazard
analyses and correction action
• Record of safety training provided, including
attendees
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Leadership and Managing
Workplace Risks
• Your staff are more likely to take action when they
believe:
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others would take similar action
something will happen
retaliation will not occur
they can trust the process
that it is expected of them by their managers
and peers
Based on research by the Ethics
Resource Center Fellows Program
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Additional Resources
• Additional information on a wide range of
workplace violence issues can be found at the
following website:
– www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence
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Questions and Answers
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Wrap Up and Evaluation
• Please complete the evaluation of this program by
clicking here:
• https://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/12291g48f5c
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CIL-NET Attribution
Support for development of this Webinar/teleconference
was provided by the U.S. Department of Education,
Rehabilitation Services Administration under grant number
H132B070002-10. No official endorsement of the
Department of Education should be inferred. Permission is
granted for duplication of any portion of this PowerPoint
presentation, providing that the following credit is given to
the project: Developed as part of the CIL-NET, a
project of the IL NET, an ILRU/NCIL/APRIL National
Training and Technical Assistance Program.
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