Last month, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and ASIS International jointly issued an American National Standard on Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention. The Standard is patterned on workplace safety guidelines issued by organizations such as ANSI and the NFPC.

The new Standard is the result of a multi-year effort by these organizations to collect and synthesize best practices for avoidance of employee injuries due to workplace violence. It focuses on adoption of a multidisciplinary approach toward preventing workplace violence, calling on the talents of human resource, security, legal and other professionals to develop specific prevention and intervention programs.

The Standard sets forth the elements of an effective workplace violence prevention program, including designation of response teams and development of specific strategies for early intervention in potentially violent situations. It includes a separate section on spillover effects into the workplace from domestic violence.

In September, federal OSHA directed its field inspectors to begin citing employers under the General Duty Clause in situations where employees are injured as a result of preventable workplace violence. Employers seeking to determine industry standards, and to take proactive steps to avoid violent situations may view the new Standard as a valuable resource for developing their prevention programs.

For members of SHRM, the Standard can be accessed here.