Workplace Violence

Workplace Violence Menu Workers' Rights

Risk Factors

The following references provide information on risk factors and scope of violence in the workplace to increase awareness of workplace violence:

Federal Agency Guidance
  • Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) - Current and Revised Data. U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Includes the category "Assaults and Violent Acts".
  • About Workplace Violence. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), (December 3, 2024). Provides current information about workplace violence, workers at increased risk, workplace violence statistics, NIOSH research, and prevention resources.
  • Violence Occupational Hazards in Hospitals. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-101, (April 2002). Increases employee and employer awareness of the risk factors for violence in hospitals and provides strategies for reducing exposure to these factors.
  • Workplace Violence: Issues in Response. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, (2002). Developed from the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime's "Violence in the Workplace" symposium June 10-14, 2002, as a guide to businesses, small and large, and government in implementing a proactive workplace violence prevention strategy.
  • Sygnatur, EF and Toscano, GA. "Work-related Homicides: The Facts". U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Safety, Health and Working Conditions Compensation and Working Conditions Article, (Spring 2000). Provides information on work-related homicides, including information about the perpetrators, demographics of the decedents, and other relevant facts about these events, such as the time of the incident, the location, and the type of establishment in which the homicide occurred. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of these incidents are not crimes of passion committed by disgruntled coworkers and spouses, but rather result from robberies.
  • Stress... at Work. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 99-101, (1999). Highlights knowledge about the causes of stress at work and outlines steps that can be taken to prevent job stress. Defines job stress as the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Job stress can lead to poor health and even injury. Explores a combination of organizational change and stress management as the most useful approach for preventing stress at work.
  • Handbook on Workplace Violence Prevention and Response. U.S. Department of Agriculture, (October 2001). Addresses prevention of workplace violence, employer and employee responsibilities, identification of potentially violent situations and response to violent incidents.
  • Reducing Workplace Violence in Gas Stations and Convenience Stores: for Employers. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication No. 2024-126, (September 2024). Provides current recommendations for employers to reduce workplace violence in gas stations and convenience stores, including workplace violence prevention programs and controls to reduce risk.
  • Occupational Violence. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Workplace Safety and Health Topic. Reports that an average of 1.7 million people were victims of violent crime while working or on duty in the United States each year from 1993 through 1999 according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Includes NIOSH publications as well as other U.S. government occupational violence links including a psychological first aid manual for mental health providers.
  • Women’s Safety and Health Issues at Work. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, (June 6, 2014). This factsheet contains information on working women, the hazards they may face, and NIOSH research in areas of particular concern to women.
  • Indicators of Workplace Violence, 2019. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, (July 2022). An overview of statistics on workplace violence including fatal and nonfatal workplace injuries of male and female workers.
State and Local Guidance