Workplace Violence and Homicide

United States

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) gathers and reports data on fatal incidents involving workplace violence in the United States. Since the 1980s, violence in the workplace has shown a considerable increase, with work-related homicide at the highest rate ever in 1994. However, over the past 6 years, the occurrence of fatal incidents involving workplace violence has seen a substantial decline. This is partly due to the increased awareness of the problem and the development of prevention programs. Employers and employees are more aware of the dangers and warning signs of potential violence, and preventative actions are taken more frequently.

In 2000, the preliminary data captured by BLS show that there were approximately 5,915 fatalities in the work environment per 100,000 workers. Of those, 10.1% were classified as homicides, which represents 599 homicides per 100,00 workers. This figure is up slightly from the previous year, recording 585 homicides, which represents 9.6% of the total fatalities. In 1999, there were 6,054 fatalities in the workplace per 100,000 workers. Figure 1 shows data from 1992 through 2000 on work-related homicide in the United States.

In addition to data collected on fatal incidents due to violence in the workplace, the BLS reported approximately 5,650,100 nonfatal injuries and illnesses occurring in the workplace in 2000. These figures have shown a decrease over the past 5 years. Nonfatal injuries involving assaults and violent acts resulted in 18,418 reported incidents for 2000. This is up from the previous year of 16,644 reported incidents. Over the past 6 years, data show that assaults and violent acts appear to be decreasing. Because the numbers are sporadic from year to year, tracking of future data will determine whether a pattern is developing. Figure 2 shows data collected on nonfatal injuries and illnesses in the workplace involving assaults and violent acts from 1995 through 2000 in the United States.

Figure 1 Work-Related Homicide in the United States (1992–2000).

Figure 2 Nonfatal Injuries and Illnesses Related to Violent Incidents in the Workplace in the United States (1995–2000)

Workplace violence encompasses not only single acts of homicides and mass murders in the work environment but has also been defined to include threats, assaults, bodily injury, rape, and harassment. A growing concern in the workplace is the potential of terrorist attacks, such as the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001. Four jetliners were hijacked by terrorists; two planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing thousands in the 100-plus story buildings, as well as the flight crew, and passengers. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., killing workers within the building and everyone on the plane. The fourth plane, which crashed in the Pennsylvania countryside, is believed to have been destined for the White House.

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