Workplace violence continues to be a major concern for businesses of all sizes. Most employers feel that there’s inadequate legal protection for them and their employees because there are no federal laws against it. However, state legislators are getting the message. On March 25, 2002, Tennessee became the seventh state to allow employers to seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) on behalf of an employee who suffers from a violent act or receives a credible threat from any individual. The next day, Indiana passed a similar law.

Most of the state laws are modeled after the law in California, which was the first state to pass legislation in 1995. The laws are designed to prohibit individuals from making violent acts or threats toward the workplace as a whole or against any individual worker. In states without these laws, typically only the harassed employee can seek a TRO. The employer is powerless to obtain protection for the worksite.

Other states that have passed enabling legislation are Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada and Rhode Island. In addition, Kentucky, New Jersey and New York have pending legislation on this critical issue.

One of the newest and most frightening exposures facing employers is workplace violence. Workplace Violence insurance coverage is protection against the expenses that a company can face resulting from incidences of workplace violence, including the cost to hire independent security consultants and public relations experts, as well as payment of death benefits and business interruption expenses.

The average workplace-violence incident costs employers $250,000 according to law-enforcement agencies. USA companies lose $1 billion annually in higher workers-compensation costs according to workplace violence statistics. Companies also suffer low productivity, greater inefficiency, reduced competitiveness and very bad public relations.