You cannot listen to the TV news without an everyday report of a shooting, stabbing, or even worse, a mass attack. There’s no question that violence is increasing in the U.S., and of course that means it is increasing in the workplace.

Workplace Violence Affects All Industries

According to Bryghtpath, a recognized leader in crisis management, business continuity, and crisis communications, it seems that it doesn’t matter what industry, workplace violence occurs across the board. Following are excerpts from their article, “20 Notable Workplace Violence Incidents from 2022.”

• Walmart, Chesapeake, VA—a Walmart manager opened fire on fellow employees.

• FedEx, Memphis, TN—a former FedEx employee is facing attempted murder charges after police say he shot his coworker.

• Arby’s, Oklahoma City, OK—an argument between two Arby’s employees at a store ended when one shot and killed the other.

• Deli, Bloomfield, MI—an employee of a Bloomfield Township deli reportedly fired shots into the business before taking his own life later the same day.

• Precision Drawn Metals, Janesville, WI—an employee who only had worked seven days at a Wisconsin business was arrested for shooting and killing his co-worker.

• Hyundai Dealer, Slidell, LA—a man is in custody after police say he shot and killed his coworker at the Hyundai of Slidell car dealership.

• Dubow Textile, Saint Cloud, MN—a St. Cloud man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a woman he worked with.

• Morgan Stanley, Oklahoma City, OK—Oklahoma City police responded to a workplace shooting at an office building.

• 99 Ranch Market, Chino Hills, CA—a grocery store employee is facing an attempted murder charge after an ongoing feud with a co-worker escalated to violence.

• Ottawa Fire Service, Ottawa, Canada—two Ottawa Fire Services members are facing charges for an alleged hate-motivated assault against one of their co-workers.

• Winner’s Freight, Burr Ridge, IL—an employee at a trucking company who was about to be fired fatally shot his boss and injured another former coworker before taking his own life.

• Wendy’s, Prescott Valley, AZ—a Wendy’s employee in Arizona has been arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly sucker-punched a customer, which resulted in his death

• McDonald’s, Sundre, Alberta, Canada—a 27-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of his co-worker.

• General Mills Plant, Covington, GA—a General Mills employee was shot and killed by a co-worker at the cereal plant.

• Little Caesar’s Pizza, Cincinnati, OH—an employee recently fired from a Little Caesars Pizza tried to get her job back but ended up shooting and critically wounding the manager instead.

• Delaware County Highway Department, Muncie, IN—an employee of the Delaware County Highway Department has been accused of battering and threatening two co-workers.

• ShopRite, Clark, NJ—a ShopRite employee was charged with stabbing a colleague multiple times during an attack at the store where they worked.

• Mission Grill, Anderson, SC—the Anderson Police Department said schools were placed on lockdown after a restaurant employee came to work with a gun and attacked his coworkers.

• Hackensack University Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ—a travel nurse is accused of attacking an employee at Hackensack University Medical Center and setting her on fire.

• Walgreens, Colorado Springs, CO—a teenager killed at a Colorado Springs Walgreens allegedly expressed concerns for a year about the man accused in her death.

Workplace violence includes bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, rape, physical abuse, verbal abuse, intimidation, stalking, and even murder.

Concerning Statistics on Workplace Violence

Zippia (career experts) research states that “Approximately 396,000 assaults occur in workplaces across the nation every year. Meanwhile, roughly 51,000 rapes and sexual assaults happen in U.S. workplaces annually, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey.”

And, although injury and death are the worst-case scenarios regarding workplace violence, it is important to note that business loss of profits is also a huge issue. “Workplace violence causes American businesses to lose, on average, $250 to $330 billion every year.” (Source: Zippia) 

What Can an Employer Do to Protect Himself,
His Employees, and His Business?

We highly recommend starting with a thorough employee background screening of prospective employees, as well as periodic screenings of employees already working at your business. Such screenings help to prevent the hiring of bad employees in the first place, people who already present “red flags,” such as criminal histories, untrue statements on applications, workplace aggression, and other negative factors.

A thorough employee background screening should include:

• Misdemeanor and felony criminal records searches at the county, state, and national levels (international also, if necessary)

• Social Security number traces and validations

• Checks on references, credit, civil records, driver’s license, and motor vehicle records

• Military records verifications

• Employment and education verifications

• Professional license verifications

• Workers’ compensation history searches

• Healthcare sanction checks

• Address history checks

• Sex-offender status searches

• Social media screening

Why Choose The Hire Authority forYour
Employee Background Screening?

 It’s important to hire an experienced and professional firm like The Hire Authority to do a thorough screening. Hiring wrong employees can cost you a lot of money in the form of assaults, theft, fraud, accidents, low productivity, reputation damage, and even lawsuits.

The Hire Authority is also expert in complex compliance issues regarding state, federal, and county laws. These are constantly being updated and are difficult for employers to keep up with. Failure to comply can cost you big, regarding fines and even shutdown.

We hope this blog has been helpful. Remember, be safe, not sorry!

We’d be happy to talk to you about screening your employees.
Call us at (508) 230-5901 or visit our website www.hireauth.com.

 

The foregoing should not be construed as legal advice. Employers should always consult their own legal counsel for advice on labor and employment matters.