Abstract: At approximately 2:00 a.m. on June 5, 1997, Employee #1, a security guard for IMS Corporation (dba Guardco Security), was murdered while she protected the assets in a merchandise tent at a Sears, Inc., store in North Little Rock, AR. The OSHA Little Rock area office became aware of the incident through extensive media coverage of the fatality. The stories raised concerns regarding the employer's policies and procedures for protecting employees, whether Employee #1 had been provided with communication equipment, and whether she had been placed in a potentially dangerous situation without appropriate protection. Subsequent investigation revealed that Employee #1 had been assigned to the 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. night shift at the merchandise tent. On previous occasions, Guardco workers had been provided with communication equipment owned by Sears, but on the night of the incident, no Sears personnel were at the site during Employee #1's shift to provide it. In addition, Employee #1 did not have a vehicle available at the work site, and she had to spend the work shift outside. An alleged perpetrator was later arrested and charged.