Legislation and regulations addressing workplace violence in the United States and British Columbia

Overview: For as long as workers have had contact with customers, coworkers, the public, and others, they have faced risk of assault. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, a number of highly publicized incidents occurred that involved multiple fatalities, and reliable statistics showed homicide to be a major cause of worker deaths. As a result, violence in the workplace became a subject of concern among the public and policymakers. This article reviews a number of legislative and regulatory efforts from the past decade that were designed to prevent violence against employees. Some states and localities have enacted legislation to address specific types of violence in the workplace, such as robbery-related violence, and violence against health care workers and taxi drivers. In addition, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as a number of state OSHA programs, has attempted to reduce the risk of assault to workers through new and existing statutes and administrative regulations. To provide a contrast with developments in the United States, the author will also discuss requirements for prevention of assault in the workplace in the Canadian province of British Columbia.