The Best Defense: carriers and the companies they insure must prepare for violence or disasters occurring in the workplace.

In Irvine, Calif., a retail employee killed two co-workers with a samurai sword. In Sacramento, Calif., a security guard, suspended for vandalizing his girlfriend's car, shot three co-workers, including the girlfriend. In Massachusetts, a technology employee, upset over an ensuing wage garnishment, opened fire on co-workers and killed seven.

These examples bring workplace violence at the local level vividly to life. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported an annual average of 1.7 million victims of violence in the workplace between 1993 and 1999, including more than 800 murders recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries. The cost of this violence may be as high as $4.2 billion annually in the United States.

This vicious trend has continued into the new century, although more recent numbers indicate a slight drop in incidents. With 9/11 causing the most devastation ever imagined anywhere in the world in a working environment, insurance companies, risk managers, human resources groups and the companies they serve have given serious thought and attention to better securing the workplace.

How can carriers and the companies they insure prepare for violence or disasters occurring in the workplace? The question has no simple answer but requires careful prevention planning, an awareness and education campaign among employees, and a program of routine security audits to help minimize the risk of such occurrences.

Some high-risk settings that provide fertile breeding grounds for violence include work situations where direct contact with the public is recurrent, money is handled, or delivery of goods, services or passengers takes place, such as in trucks, taxi cabs or police cars. Work areas dealing with unstable or volatile persons such as in health care, social service or criminal justice settings also are at high risk, but workplace eruptions can occur in almost any type of setting.

Short of installing bulletproof barriers and expensive security monitoring systems, there are a number of environmental design controls that help reduce the likelihood of an event. Increasing public visibility and the level of lighting can contribute to reducing the risk of workplace assault, and may help diffuse the potential for damage to workers or property.

A complete security audit of access and exit routes will also strengthen security in areas where nonemployees might gain entrance. Landscaping, building and parking area design, refuse areas, outdoor facilities and storage units where workers operate must all be taken into account.

Some insurance companies with global operations, clients and critical infrastructure to protect, including those in the energy, chemical, utilities and petroleum exploration/production businesses, have opted to deploy a centralized identity and access-management system that closely monitors entrances and exits to buildings, facilities, plants, offshore platforms, power stations and remote offices. Some systems include the capability to control access to the computer networks and IT systems.

While sophisticated security and identity management systems may reduce the risk for assaults against workers and speed the identification and apprehension of unauthorized persons in buildings and networks, they are not always enough to deter a determined perpetrator. Work practices and staffing patterns during the opening and closing of establishments and during money deposits and pickups should be carefully reviewed for the increased risk of assault they pose to workers.

Workplace violence cannot be completely avoided but its risks can be minimized. In addition to regular security audits and access-control monitoring, other practical steps include:

* Implementing a comprehensive policy addressing violence in the workplace and training employees and supervisors on what to do if a problem arises. Consider combining such training with sexual-harassment issues, because many times the two overlap.

* Having a plan in place for handling the "problem termination." Do not create a confrontation at a time and place that could lead to violence.

* Using the company's Employee Assistance Program to pre-empt violent behavior early. Although legal advice should be sought in this area, EAP attendance in conjunction with disciplinary action can sometimes be an effective tool.

Managing workplace violence is a huge challenge, but one that can be controlled with effective policies, trained supervision, careful screening practices and reinforced security procedures aimed at risk management.

David L. Barron is an associate in the Labor and Employment practice of Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall. He can be reached at insight @bestreview.com.