Workplace‑violence planning widens
Industry discussion is expanding prevention beyond active‑shooter plans to include stalking, fixation, threatening communications and grievance escalation, and it urges behavior‑based case review and cross‑functional reporting. Security teams are being asked to document specific actions, escalate patterns early, and coordinate closely with HR and management. (x.com/i/status/2043626794448834969)
Workplace-violence planning is shifting from active-shooter response to earlier warning signs such as threats, stalking, intimidation and escalating grievances. (osha.gov) The federal safety agency defines workplace violence broadly, not just shootings: it includes threats, harassment, intimidation and other disruptive behavior at a work site. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said 740 of 5,283 fatal workplace injuries in the United States in 2023 were caused by violent acts, including 458 homicides. (osha.gov) That broader framing is now showing up in prevention guidance. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency tells employers to train staff to recognize suspicious behavior, assess whether de-escalation is possible, and report concerns through internal channels or to emergency responders. (cisa.gov) The emphasis is on behavior, not a single label or scenario. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency materials describe a “pathway to violence” model built around observable indicators before an attack, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on March 9, 2026 that new health-care guidance should help organizations identify, assess and prevent targeted violence before it develops into an act. (cisa.gov, fbi.gov) That is also changing who gets involved inside a company. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said its March 2026 health-care materials include templates for multidisciplinary behavioral threat assessment and management teams, and a long-running federal workplace-violence guide hosted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency says agencies should build programs that prepare for, prevent and respond to incidents. (fbi.gov, cisa.gov) California has already pushed employers toward more formal planning. Cal/OSHA says Senate Bill 553 took effect and became enforceable on July 1, 2024, requiring covered employers to establish, implement and maintain a workplace-violence prevention plan, while the state works on a broader general-industry standard due by December 31, 2026. (dir.ca.gov) The California law also reaches beyond a single incident after it starts. The chaptered bill says employers must maintain an effective prevention plan, and beginning January 1, 2025 it also lets a collective bargaining representative seek a temporary restraining order on behalf of an employee facing unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence. (legiscan.com) Private-sector standards are moving in the same direction. ASIS International’s workplace-violence and active-assailant standard says organizations should adopt policies and protocols to identify, assess, respond to and mitigate threatening or intimidating behavior and violence affecting the workplace. (asisonline.org) The result is a wider playbook: document specific conduct, review patterns early, and route concerns to security, Human Resources and managers before a case becomes an emergency. Federal guidance now treats the shooting plan as one piece of workplace-violence prevention, not the whole thing. (fbi.gov, osha.gov)
