Two Case Studies: Site Specific Risk Evaluation & Determination under the NYS Public Employer Workplace Violence Law

New York State public employee labor unions worked in coalition with other occupational safety and health advocates for legislation (2006) which resulted in the most comprehensive workplace violence prevention law and regulations (2009) in the U.S. A central requirement is for covered employers to conduct a comprehensive risk evaluation and determination, with collective bargaining representative involvement. Initially, most employers focused on developing written programs, reporting systems, designing processes for conducting risk evaluations, and training. However, case studies at a mental health facility and a juvenile detention center confirm the importance of workplace violence prevention programs addressing industry and site specific work practices that go beyond the basic issues identified by NIOSH (CIB 57, 1996), “Working with unstable or volatile persons in health care, social service, or criminal justice settings”. In the subject cases the specific risk factors at issue were changes to a patient bed check policy following a patient suicide and problems with the non enforcement of youth disciplinary rules. Both cases involved enforcement actions by the public employee OSHA state plan. Evaluation methods including a stakeholder committee process, worker surveys, site inspections, worker interviews, and a literature search. In both cases, union advocacy played a major role in identifying the risks and developing control measures that address them.