In our weekly Library Card Series we highlight a selection from our resource library to help introduce the content to our industry partners.
In this week’s Library Card Series we will be going over the FBI’s report on Workplace Violence. The report helps organizations better understand how to prevent, and intervene violence in the workplace, while also arming them to effectively conduct threat assessments and and risk management. Workplace violence is (or should be) front and center in any organization’s current risk management considerations as the potential for layoffs related to vaccine mandates mean that there could exist a trigger that has potential to lead to violence for many organizations.
An MJBizDaily recently wrote about the fact that President Biden’s vaccine mandate would apply to the cannabis industry. While the 5th Circuit in Louisiana imposed a court-order stay that delays the mandate from taking effect and the legal battle is expected to reach the Supreme Court it is still important for organizations who would be impacted by the mandates to plan as if they will go into full effect.
A review of recent workplace shootings show that employees who were recently separated from their workplace can be a huge risk to their former employer. Some of the recent incidents in 2021 include:
- Tennessee Kroger– A third party vendor shot 15 people, 1 fatally at the supermarket just outside of Memphis after losing his job.
- Nebraska Grain Elevator– Former employee shot 3 people, killing two of them.
- Fed Ex Facility– 8 people were killed and seven injured by a former employee at the facility near Indianapolis.
- Nebraska Casino Restaurant– 3 people shot resulting in 2 deaths by a former employee.
Understanding the potential risks that exist, it is important for cannabis organization leaders to educate themselves and their work force on how to identify, solve, and resolve workplace violence.
Among other things, the report provides a sample workplace violence policy where an employer can set the standard for acceptable workplace behavior. When attempting to identify potentially problem situations, it is important to remember that there is no “profile” or litmus test to determine whether an employee may be come violent. First line supervisors and managers should be familiar with the pathways to violence indicators to help them assess employees who may be come violent.
The report also addresses identifying and reporting on threatening behavior. We have recently covered the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) four-part series on De-escalation which can be a valuable resource when dealing with a stressed worker who is facing the possibility of losing their job.
To find more valuable resources covering a wide variety of topics, visit the resource section of our website, and check back to our blog every Tuesday for our Library Card Series where we highlight different resources from the library.