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HR’s Emerging Role in Preventing Workplace Violence Incidents

Rick Nelson, CPPRichard D. Nelson & Associates

Security Consultants

Board Certified in Security Management

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Full Disclosure

• My Name is Rick Nelson• I’ve Never Been to a Garden Party• I can’t Play the Guitar• Ozzie & Harriet are Fine• Yes, my middle name is “David”

• And, If you laughed at any of these, I know that you are over the age of 40

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Agenda• Types of Workplace Violence Incidents• Costs Associated with Workplace Violence• Changing Role of Municipal Police Agencies• Why is HR Involved in WPV Prevention?• Identify Common Traits of Offenders • Discuss Common Triggering Events• Define The Gold Standard of Comprehensive

WPV Prevention Programs• Handling Employee Termination Events Safely• Questions / Comments

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Video courtesy of Dan Weigers

Why am I here today?

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Are You Prepared?

• In a 2005 Bureau of Labor Statistics – Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Study:

• In an average week, 1 employee is killed and 25 are seriously injured during violent assaults by current of former coworkers

• Homicides are the second leading cause of job-related deaths, surpassed only by motor vehicle accidents

• Only 68% of employers have written policies addressing workplace violence

Far fewer have a comprehensive plan for preventing violence in the workplace

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Workplace Violence TypologyTypes of WPV Incidents

1. Criminal ActRobbery, or other crime

2. Recipient of ServiceER Nurse, Taxi driver…

3. Worker on WorkerCurrent or former employee

4. Personal RelationshipNon-Job Related (Domestic Violence by Spouse / Partner)

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HR 101

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Can We Agree…

• In order to have people function at their peak…..

• Employees need to feel safe first & foremost

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Can We Agree?

• 1.7 million “violent victimizations” annually

• $6.5 Billion +• lost business and

productivity, • litigation, • medical care, • psychiatric care, • higher insurance rates, • increased security

measures, • negative publicity, and • loss of employees

Source: National Institute for Prevention of Workplace Violence & Violence in the Workplace, U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of JusticeStatistics.

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Financial Impact

• NIOSH research indicates that the average cost of a workplace homicide exceeds $850,000 per incident

• Average out-of-court settlement in negligence cases of workplace violence averages $500,000 (Not including any punitive damages)

• The average jury award involving negligence cases of workplace violence exceeds $3 Million (Rebecca Speer, workplace violence attorney study)

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Can We Also Agree:

• Employees who feel safe are:– More productive?– Less distracted?

– More engaged?

– Happier?

– Better Employees?

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Do I really need to be concerned about workplace violence?

• We’ve never had a incident in the past,

• We have good policies,• We do pre-employment

screening,• We have our own

security force,• And, besides, if anything

happens, we can always call the police……..

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The Role of the Police “Serve & Protect”

What is the image that you see?

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No, Not this image

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The Image Most people See….

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The Police – “Serve & Protect”

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The Police – “Serve & Protect”• During the 1980’s – 90’s Innovative new policing programs were

initiated (Community Policing, DARE, CAPS).

• During this recession, for the first time, Police Department’s have been forced to lay-off sworn officers.

The role of Law Enforcement is changing• Organized Criminal Elements• Gangs• Drugs• Terrorism (Domestic & International)• Computer / Internet Based Crimes

• Increasingly, as criminals become better organized and better armed,This is the face of local law enforcement……….

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“PROTECT” & serve

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The New Face of Protect & Servepost 9/11, NYC

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Police Response TimesAtlanta Journal Constitution studied

response times to high-priority 9-1-1 calls during 2008

• Average response time of Atlanta PD for the first officer to arrive on the scene was more than 11 minutes.

• Comparison of other departments across the country showed response times ranged from 8:54 to 11:12

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The average violent

Active Shooter

incident is over

in less than

5 minutes

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Back to the original question…Do I really need to be concerned about workplace violence?

• Economic Conditions– Worst recession since WWII– Massive Job Losses Nationwide

• Many expect that unemployment will reach 11%• Higher rates of divorce• Higher rates of bankruptcy• Record rates of foreclosure

– Repossessing the “American Dream”

• In sum, our workforce is under stressors like we have never seem before

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Case Study“William Smith - ABC Company”

• Mfg Company bought out by V/C led conglomerate.

• Long term EVP being terminated

• History of Internal Investigations

• History of verbal abuse to employees (specifically against HR Director)

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Background• Current management was in the process of reorganizing the senior

management team. • Mr. William Smith, an original equity partner and long term employee of the

company & current Executive Vice President was to be notified that his employment is being terminated.

• Management was concerned that Mr. Smith may react negatively to learning of his termination. In the past, Mr. Smith has been verbally aggressive and combative to other staff; (they denied any knowledge of any physical violence). Prior to an meeting with the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Smith complained to a co-worker that he was frustrated and felt that his role had been diminished and his ability to effectively complete his job was being undermined by a lack a direction from his superiors and by limiting his ability to travel.

• Mr. Smith was previously under an internal investigation by the Company for an undisclosed reason and while resolved, which caused Mr. Smith to state to other co-workers that he feels that other people in the organization were “out to get him” and stated that they were “lucky that I don’t have a gun with me”.

• This photograph was in the Company lobby………

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Would you be Concerned?

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What did we do?• Met with Company Officials and learned:

– Company had no anti-harassment policies– Company had no emergency plan– No WPV prevention program– No access control policies - open office– Subject was already angry with Management

• Met with local PD– Advised PD of situation – Learned that subject had no local contacts / arrests– No FOID card– Arranged for “Extra Watch” on the Facility during the termination.

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What did we do?• Met with the Individual in a controlled enviornment

– Assessed his current emotional condition & allowed him to “vent”

– Explained that his former company had arranged Outplacement services for him

– Escorted him out of facility and off company property– Followed up with him later that day and on subsequent

days to insure that his emotions and actions were directed towards positive goals

– Had him work extensively with a career coach– During times when he regressed back to anger at the

Company, we re-focused his vision on the future.

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What was the Outcome?• Client was provided with a professionally written resume,

worked with a coach for a intensive 2-day training program, utilized office space provided by outplacement firm.

• Client successful disengaged from his former employer after working with a coach for approx. 3 months.

• Client formed his own consulting firm and has actually referred sales leads back to his former employer.

• Anti-climactic?• Absolutely!

• Good Company Policy?• No violence, other employees saw that he was treated well, no

negative effect on “Brand”

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Case Study #2• In this case, Paul Calden, a former claims administrator with Firemen’s

Fund Insurance Co. shot five employees, (all were executives or supervisors), killing three, before killing himself.

• Just prior to the shooting, Calden reportedly told the victims "This is what you get for firing me."

• Relatives of the deceased sued Calden’s former employer – Allstate – for giving Firemen’s standard job reference on Calden, violating the Duty of Care Standard that had not previously been defined.

• The families claimed that Allstate had a duty to disclose the former employee’s problems during a job reference interview (i.e., Background Check conducted by Fireman’s Fund prior to employment).

• The incident happened 8 months after Calden was terminated from Allstate.

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Case Study #2• Do you think that the HR Dept. at Allstate,

(Calden’s former place of employment), knew that he had:– Brought a gun to work?– Believed he was an alien, – Refused to have his picture taken? or – Wrote the word “blood” next to the names of

his co-workers?

• This case was settled out of court for a reported $50 MILLION

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How can we in HR address WPV? • 80 / 20 Rule

– 80% of the problems are caused by 20% of the employees.

• HR is uniquely positioned to “know” this 20% Population intimately

» performance problems» harassment of other employees» you know the “problem” employees» you know the managers» Are in a position to provide intervention

(counseling / EAP)

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You May Already Know Them…• Characteristics of Potential WPV Offender

– Typically Male (sorry, all you violent ladies)– Low self-esteem (may be masked – Bravado Attitude)

• People that attempt to make themselves feel better by putting others down– Feel unfairly treated

• Either real or imagined grievances (They are all real to that person)– May have problems relating with others– Blames others

• Unable to accept responsibility for their own actions– Past history of performance / behavioral problems (excessive tardiness,

decreased productivity, co-worker complaints…)– May be ostracized from the group– May exhibit unusual level of interest in past acts of violence

• Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech Shooter) wrote & submitted prolific “plays” and other works of “fiction” vividly describing his violent ideations.

– May be fascinated with guns or other weapons• Cho spent several months amassing the weapons used in the rampage in

2007. He also began frequenting a shooting range 40 miles from the school.

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Common Triggering Events

• Domestic Conflicts• Disciplinary Actions / Terminations• Performance Reviews• Denial of Perceived Entitlements

• Continued Employment• Promotion• Disability Benefits• Unemployment Benefits• Worker’s Comp. Benefits

• Work Force Reductions• Rude or Disrespectful Treatment (Either Real or

Perceived)

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RacialHarassment

Economic Stress

Employee Theft

ViolenceProne

Hartford Distributors, Aug 3, 2010

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Case Study #3 Hartford Distributors, Aug 3, 2010

• Omar Thornton, 34 a driver employed for less than a year, shot & killed 8 people and seriously injuring 2 before killing himself.

• Immediately before the rampage, he was in a disciplinary meeting where video evidence of him stealing beer from his route was presented. He was offered the opportunity to resign or be fired.

• He left the meeting room, went to the employee lounge, and returned with 2 loaded Ruger SR9 semi-automatic handguns.

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Hartford Distributors Rampage• Police arrived on the scene within 3 minutes of the first 911 call and

entered the facility 10 minutes after the first call.• After his rampage, Thornton called his mother and 911 to explain

the shootings, saying:Thornton: “This is Omar Thornton, the, uh, the shooter over in Manchester…. Uh, you probably want to know the reason why I shot this place up. This place here is a racist place.”

Dispatcher: “Yup, I understand that.”

Thornton: They treat me bad over here, and they treat all the other black employees bad over here too, so I just take it into my own hands and I handled the problem — I wish I coulda got more of the people.

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Hartford Distributors Rampage

• Thornton had reportedly told friends and relatives that coworkers had scrawled racist comments on a bathroom wall & hung a stick figure effigy in a miniature noose.– Thornton’s girlfriend claims to have seen evidence of

these racial events, but no compelling evidence has been presented to validate these claims of racial harassment, nor had Thornton filed any complaints to either the company or his union.

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What else have we learned?• Thornton declared bankruptcy by the time he was 24,• He was in financial distress at the time, and in the past,• He had domestic problems – ending his relationship several months

before,• His Facebook page showed his fascination with guns• He had feelings of being persecuted over claims of racial

discrimination,• Before the meeting, he was notified that the meeting was to present

evidence of his stealing from the Company.• After signing the resignation form, he was allowed to move through

the facility un-escorted• Prior to the meeting, he had placed his lunchbox in the adjoining

employee kitchenette containing 2 loaded handguns.• All of Thornton’s victims were white men over 50 & were managers

that he believed had hired detectives to document his thefts.

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The Gold Standardof Workplace Violence Prevention

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Industry Best PracticesGold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Proactive Management Support– Makes WPV prevention an imperative

• Implement & Uniformly Enforce Policies addressing:– No Threat / No Violence– Bullying / Intimidation– Harassment / Discrimination– No Weapons– Alcohol / Drug Use– Code of Conduct / Employee Ethics– Electronic Communications Use

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Gold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Reporting Procedures– Multiple Reporting System Inputs

• Designated Contact Person(s)

• Email

• Hotline

• System in place to Evaluate Threats– Multi-Disciplinary Incident Management Team

• HR, Security, Legal, Senior Management, Union, Corporate Communications / PR…

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Gold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Available Options When Threat is Deemed Legitimate– Diversionary Resources

• EAP / Counseling

• Psychological Behavioral Threat Evaluation• Substance Abuse Treatment Resources

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Gold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Training Programs– Include in all Recruitment Activities

• Similar to “Drug-Free Workplace” language

– Add to On-Boarding of New Employees– In-Service for all Employees

• Insure that everyone knows how to report concerns

– Manager / Supervisor Training • Warning Signs• Actions

– What Should I Do When I Receive an Employee Report of Concern?

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Gold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Record Keeping Systems– Investigations

– Diversions / Treatments– Ongoing Monitoring

• Extended Monitoring / Follow-up

• Facility Physical Security– Access Control Systems

• Ability to limit & restrict movement within facility

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Gold-Standard of WPV Prevention

• Pre-Employment Verification / Screening– Background Investigation

– Verify Credentials– Discover past undisclosed criminal activity

• Past history of violence is a strong indicator of future violence.

– Opportunity to verify the integrity of candidate.• Dishonesty during application process is an

indicator of on-the-job integrity.

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Pre-Employment Screening• Verify at least last 5 years of work history• Check References• Verify Education & Credentials

– Rule of Ten - Estimated that 10% of professional resumes include intentional misrepresentations.

• Ask former employers:– “Is there any reason that we need to be concerned

about violence?”• They may or may not respond – Ask anyway.• Places them on notice that you asked the question• Document the conversation – date, time, contact and

response

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Access Control & Other Physical Security Measures

• Access Control– Organization has the

absolute right to determine who is allowed in you facility, and where they go.

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Access Control

• Best Systems will:– Restrict access to

allow only people with a legitimate business purpose to be there.

– Provide an audit trail to insure that only approved people are in restricted areas.

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Access Control – Visitor Management

• Guests, Visitors and Service Providers should not have unrestricted access to facility.– Should be logged in

– Should be escorted

– Should be logged out

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Incident Management Team (IMT)

• Multi-disciplinary team to evaluate & manage possible threats

• Should include– Executives, – HR, – Security, – Line managers– Legal– Communications (PR)– Union……

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Guidelines for Incident Management Team (IMT)

• Definition of Process at each stage:– Initial Notification of Incident of Concern

– Initial Data Gathering & Risk Assessment– Initial Actions of Team– Risk Management & Strategy Options– Resolution– Analysis

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The Top 10 Early Warning Signs

10. Typically Male9. Have Problems Relating to Others (Loner)8. Past history of performance / behavioral problems 7. Exhibits unusual interest in past acts of violence6. Exhibits unusual interest with guns or other weapons5. Unable to take responsibility for their own actions.4. History of Substance Abuse, Depression or other mental

health issues3. Paranoid, Vindictive or display other Bizarre Behaviors2. Low Self-Esteem

1. Believe that they have been Unfairly Treated

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Safe Termination Events• Review personnel file for indications of potential violence

characteristics• In-person (not by phone or email)• Strive to treat the person as an individual

– Dignity & Respect• Semi-Private meeting (1-2 people + employee)• Layout of room (don’t let person get between you and door)• Control the movements of former employee.

– Recent shooting in Connecticut, staff allowed the offender to leave the meeting room to get a glass of water ~ he returned with a gun.

• Plan for emotions (anger, sadness, disbelief…)• Provide all information conveyed verbally in written form • Insure that credentials are revoked immediately (access,

computer…)• Consult with in-house security prior to event (if available)

– Allocate additional resources or people as needed– Liaise with local law enforcement

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Outplacement Services• If uncertain retain consultative assistance.• Provide Outplacement services for departing employees

– Service that helps the employee find their next position.• allows them to “vent” to 3rd party• Re-direct anger to productive actions

• Retain OP service that are “career-level-specific”- Don’t group VP’s with production workers- Program tailored to the level of the employee (front line, supervisor, manager, executive etc…)

• Providing Outplacement validates the individual’s sense of self worth and shows that the company respects the individual & their contribution.– Demonstrated both Dignity & Respect of the person – Feeds into their ego & self-esteem– Demonstrates to Survivors that Company cares about the

departing employee.

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The First Step…

Strive to create an Open, Honest & Respectful Workplace.

Where individual contributions are recognized and celebrated

Where, every individual has the right to be treated with dignity & respect

NO exceptions!

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Remember…….

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Past Incidents of Workplace Violence

• - Aug. 3, 2010: Warehouse driver Omar Thornton shot and killed eight people before apparently committing suicide at a Manchester, Conn., beer distributorship.

• - May 7, 2010: An employee of the State Street Old Navy store was shot and killed by her boyfriend as a result of an earlier domestic disturbance. The shooter committed suicide after fatally wounding his girlfriend.

• - Feb 26,2010 Birney Elementary School, Tacoma, WA. Teacher

was shot multiple times as she entered the workplace.

• - Feb. 12, 2010: Three biology professors were shot and killed and three other employees injured at the University of Alabama's Huntsville campus. Amy Bishop, a 42-year-old instructor and researcher at the school, is charged with murder.

• - Jan. 7, 2010 ABB Inc St. Louis, MO A worker armed himself with multiple weapons, fatally shooting three workers and self; wounding five other workers.

• - Nov. 5, 2009: At Fort Hood, Texas, 13 people were fatally shot and 32 were injured. Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder.

• - June 25, 2008: Wesley N. Higdon, 25, killed five workers, then himself, at Atlantis Plastics in Henderson, Ky. A sixth shooting victim survived.

• - March 18, 2008: Lee Isaac Bedwell Leeds, 31, shot and killed four men at a junk yard in Santa Maria, Calif.

• - March 12, 2008: Robert Lanham killed two people in the Regions Bank of McComb, Miss., where his ex-wife worked, then forced the woman to flee with him before killing her and committing suicide.

• - April 16, 2007: A gunman kills 32 people in a dorm and a classroom at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. The gunman later dies.

• - Sept. 2, 2006: Douglas W. Pennington, 49, kills himself and his two sons, Logan P. Pennington, 26, and Benjamin M. Pennington, 24, during a visit to the campus of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, W.Va.

• - Jan. 30, 2006: Former postal worker Jennifer San Marco, 44, shot and killed six postal employees, then himself, in Goleta, Calif.

• - July 2, 2004: Elijah Brown, 21, killed four co-workers and wounded three others at ConAgra Foods meatpacking plant in Kansas City, Kansas, before committing suicide.

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• - August 27, 2003: Recently fired Salvador Tapia, 36, killed six former co-workers at an auto parts warehouse in Chicago, then was shot dead by police.

• - July 8, 2003: Doug Williams, 48, shot and killed six workers and wounded eight others before killing himself at a Lockheed Martin aircraft parts plant in Meridian, Miss.

• - Feb. 25, 2003: Emanuel Burl Patterson, 23, shot and killed four fellow jobseekers and wounded a fifth at a temporary employment service in Huntsville, Ala.

• - Oct. 28, 2002: Failing University of Arizona Nursing College student and Gulf War veteran Robert Flores, 40, walks into an instructor's office and fatally shoots her. A few minutes later, armed with five guns, he enters one of his nursing classrooms and kills two more of his instructors before fatally shooting himself.

• - Jan. 16, 2002: Graduate student Peter Odighizuwa, 42, recently dismissed from Virginia's Appalachian School of Law, returns to campus and kills the dean, a professor and a student before being tackled by students. The attack also wounds three female students.

• - Feb. 5, 2001: Factory worker William D. Baker, 66, killed four co-workers, then himself, at the Navistar International factory in a Melrose Park, IL, a Chicago suburb.

• - Dec. 26, 2000: Software tester Michael McDermott, 43, shot and killed seven people at a Wakefield, Mass., Internet consulting company, Edgewater Technology Inc. He was convicted, sentenced to life without parole.

• - Aug. 28, 2000: James Easton Kelly, 36, a University of Arkansas graduate student recently dropped from a doctoral program after a decade of study and John Locke, 67, the English professor overseeing his coursework, are shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide.

• - March 20, 2000: Fired employee Robert Harris, 28, fatally shot five people and wounded another at a Dallas-area car wash. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

• - Dec. 30, 1999: Housekeeper Silvio Izquierdo-Leyva, 36, fatally shot five co-workers at Tampa, Fla.'s Radisson Bay Harbor hotel. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to life in prison.

• - Nov. 2, 1999: Copier repairman Byran Uyesugi, 40, fatally shot seven people at Xerox Corp. in Honolulu. He was convicted, sentenced to life in prison.

• - Aug. 5, 1999: Truck driver Alan E. Miller, 35, fatally shot two co-workers at Pelham, Ala., office, then killed a former co-worker. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

• - July 29, 1999: Former day trader Mark Barton, 44, killed nine people at two Atlanta brokerage offices before he committed suicide.

• - March 6, 1998: Former Connecticut Lottery Corp. accountant Matthew Beck, 35, fatally shot four lottery executives, then himself, in Newington.

• - Dec. 18, 1997: Fired employee Arturo R. Torres, 43, killed four former co-workers at maintenance yard in Orange, Calif., and was shot to death by police.

• - Sept. 15, 1997: Fired assembly line worker Arthur H. Wise, 43, shot and killed four at Aiken, S.C., parts plant. He was convicted, sentenced to death.

• -Aug. 15, 1996: Frederick Martin Davidson, 36, a graduate engineering student at San Diego State, is defending his thesis before a faculty committee when he pulls out a handgun and kills three professors.

•- April 24, 1996: Firefighter Kenneth Tornes killed four superiors at Jackson, Miss., firehouse. He died on death row.

• - April 3, 1995: Former employee James Simpson, 28, shot and killed five people at refinery inspection station in Corpus Christi, Texas, then killed himself.

• - July 19, 1995: City electrician Willie Woods shot and killed four supervisors at C. Erwin Piper Technical Center in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to life in prison.

• - July 1, 1993: Gian Luigi Ferri, 55, a mentally disturbed man with a grudge against lawyers, killed eight people and himself in a San Francisco law office.

• - Nov. 1, 1991: Gang Lu, 28, a graduate student in physics from China, reportedly upset because he was passed over for an academic honor, opens fire in two buildings on the University of Iowa campus. Five University of Iowa employees killed, including four members of the physics department, two other people are wounded. The student fatally shoots himself.

• - June 18, 1990: James E. Pough, 42, killed 10 people and wounded four others before killing himself at a General Motors Acceptance Corp. office in Jacksonville, Fla.

• - Sept. 14, 1989: Joseph T. Wesbecker, 47, on disability for mental illness, killed eight people and wounded 12 others at a printing plant in Louisville, Ky., before killing himself.

• - Feb. 16, 1988: Richard W. Farley, 40, killed seven people with a shotgun at ESL Corp. in Sunnyvale, Calif., before surrendering. He was sentenced to death.

• - Aug. 20, 1986: Pat Sherrill, 44, a postal worker who authorities say was about to be fired, killed 14 people at a post office in Edmond, Okla., then fatally wounded himself.

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Questions

Rick Nelson, CPP

Richard D. Nelson & Associates

Security Consultants

Board Certified in Security Management

(630) 805-1094 * Rnelson881@att.net

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About the Presenter• After graduating from Aurora University with a degree

in Criminal Justice, Rick Nelson attended the Cook County Sheriff’s Police Academy, graduating at the head of the class of nearly 100 officers. During his career in law enforcement, Nelson worked in several positions at three municipal police departments in the western suburbs. During his career, he served as a crime scene technician, a field training officer, armorer, firearms training officer and alternate watch commander.

• Leaving public service, Nelson accepted a position with a national distributor of office products based in Chicago where he oversaw all operations and administrative functions including safety and security, HR and finance.

• Since 2008, Rick has been providing security consulting services to a variety of industries focusing on workplace violence prevention strategies through facility security, employment policies, training and conflict avoidance techniques.

• As a member of the American Society of Industrial Security professionals (ASIS International), Rick has been awarded the coveted designation of Certified Protection Professional (CPP™), by demonstrating competency in the areas of security solutions and best-business practices through an intensive qualification and testing program.

• Rick also serves on the F.B.I’s Critical Infrastructure Protection program for the Chicago Region and has lectured at a variety of events in the security industry and non-profit sector. Rick Nelson, CPP