CSEA President Says Workplace Violence Prevention Rule Will Save Lives If Enforced

ALBANY, NY (01/20/2009)(readMedia)-- "This rule will have a profound impact on the working lives of thousands of public employees and it will save lives," CSEA President Danny Donohue told state Department of Labor officials today about a proposed DOL rule that would require public employers to put in place workplace violence prevention programs to protect their workers.

At a public hearing on the proposed rule before it takes effect, the union leader said the rule will build upon the Worksite Security Act of 2006, which CSEA spearheaded and which provides safer workplaces for New York's public employees.

But the union leader warned DOL inspectors to remain vigilant to ensure employers comply with the law.

"We see minimum staffing levels broken every day, supervisors circumventing established procedures and other policies outright ignored," Donohue said. "Just because an employer has a nice looking program on paper does not necessarily mean it's being practiced."

Donohue also stressed that employers would benefit from worker input when developing their workplace violence prevention programs.

"Workers know what the problems are, they know where the problems are and, for the most part, they know how to fix them," Donohue said. "We want to be part of the solution. It's our necks on the line."

Always at the forefront in the fight for worker safety, CSEA played a leading role in enacting New York's Public Employee Safety and Health Act in 1980. The union intensified its fight for safer work sites in 1992 after a disgruntled client murdered four CSEA members employed at the Schuyler County Department of Social Services at their workplace. CSEA's leadership and persistence led to New York's historic Worksite Security Act, which became law in 2006. The law requires public employers with more than 20 employees to assess potential workplace violence risks and take appropriate measures to reduce those risks.

National statistics strongly support the need for protection against worksite violence. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports the following:

• Violence is a substantial contributor to death and injury on the job. NIOSH data indicates that homicide has become the second leading cause of occupational injury death, exceeded only by motor vehicle-related deaths.

• Homicide is the leading cause of death for women in the workplace and the third leading cause of death on the job for men.

• Government workers make up 18 percent of the U.S. work force, but 31 percent of the victims of workplace violence.

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