Workplace-violence investigations by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, 1993-1996

Abstract

In response to the growing recognition of violence in the workplace, government agencies who oversee workplace safety are beginning to incorporate security issues into comprehensive safety plans. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health began conducting inspections for violent events in 1993, and information from these security inspections was collected from January 1993 through January 1997. The inspections were examined by initiating source, industry, type of event, and citations issued and compared with distributions of known victimizations. The factors predicting whether a citation was issued were determined through logistic models. Over 200 inspections were conducted in 11 industries, with retail and health care establishments inspected most frequently. Employee complaints initiated 50.6% of events and accident reports initiated 40.1%. One third of inspections were initiated because of a fatal event, and 27.4% were initiated in response to a physical assault. Citations for security hazards were issued to 23.6% of businesses. Inspections initiated by employee complaints, in response to customer-related security issues, and involving non-fatal assaults were the most frequently cited reasons for inspection. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health conducted security inspections in a large range of industries and for diverse issues, even though no specific security codes exist.