Workplace violence prevention - New Jersey

New Jersey law requires covered health care facilities to implement a violence prevention program. The program must include the following:

• Establish a workplace safety committee that includes a representative of management, employees who provide direct patient care or otherwise have contact with patients, and individuals who have expertise relevant to violence prevention.
• Develop a written, detailed violence prevention plan that identifies risks and provides specific solutions. The plan must include:
  • A violence risk assessment for the facility;
  • Violence prevention policies;
  • Methods to reduce identified risks, including training, staffing, security, and engineering/administrative controls.
• Conduct annual training for employees that includes:
  • The facility’s policies related to workplace violence;
  • De-escalation techniques;
  • Appropriate responses to violence, including restraint techniques;
  • Reporting requirements and procedures;
  • The location and operation of safety devices;
  • Resources for coping with violence.
• Hire personnel who are sufficiently trained to identify violence-predicting behaviors and respond to and report violent disturbances.
• Create and maintain records of all incidents of workplace violence, which should be kept for five years following each incident. Employees, their authorized representatives, and the state Department of Health and Senior Services must be allowed access to such records.
• Establish a post-incident response system that provides an in-house crisis response team for employee victims, and individual and group crisis counseling which may include support groups, family crisis intervention, and professional referrals.

For non-health-care-related workplaces (public and private), the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness recommends its Active Shooter Response Training for first responders and facility managers, but it is not required.

Related information

• Workplace violence prevention - ezExplanation
• Active shooter - ezExplanation
• Workplace violence in health care - ezExplanation
• Workplace violence in retail - ezExplanation

Citations

• N.J. Rev. Stat. 26:2H-5.20
• 29 USC 654 — Duties of employers and employees (General Duty Clause)