Risk Factors

Prevention Programs

Training & Other Resources

Enforcement

Enforcement

There are currently no specific standards for workplace violence.

However, under the General Duty Clause, Section 5(a)(1) of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970, employers are required to provide their employees with a place of employment that "is free from recognizable hazards that are causing or likely to cause death or serious harm to employees." The courts have interpreted OSHA’s general duty clause to mean that an employer has a legal obligation to provide a workplace free of conditions or activities that either the employer or industry recognizes as hazardous and that cause, or are likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to employees when there is a feasible method to abate the hazard.

An employer that has experienced acts of workplace violence, or becomes aware of threats, intimidation, or other indicators showing that the potential for violence in the workplace exists, would be on notice of the risk of workplace violence and should implement a workplace violence prevention program combined with engineering controls, administrative controls, and training.

OSHA Enforcement Standard Interpretations

• Determining work-relatedness for recordkeeping of injury resulting from horseplay. (2009, February 9).
  
  
• Staff-to-resident ratio in a nursing home and workplace violence. (2006, August 14).
  
  
• Request for OSHA national policy banning guns from the workplace and OSHA enforcement policy regarding workplace violence. (2006, September 9).
  
  
• OSHA's guidelines are advisory, do not create new employer obligations, and are not basis for citations. (2004, June 7).
  
  
• OSHA's policy for scheduling occupational fatality investigations. (1997, March 12).
  
  
• Guidelines for Workplace Violence Prevention Programs for Night Retail Establishments. (1996, October 23).
  
  
• OSHA policy regarding violent employee behavior. (1992, December 10).
  
  
• Search all available standard interpretations for workplace violence.

Accessibility Assistance: Contact the OSHA Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management at (202) 693-2300 for assistance accessing PDF materials.

^*These files are provided for downloading.