The Canadian Labour Congress states one in three workers have experienced domestic violence and over 80% of domestic violence victims report their work performance was negatively affected. A report from the Department of Justice Canada, Research and Statistics Division, estimates Canadian employers lose almost $80 million annually from the direct and indirect impact of domestic violence.

In the United States, one in every four women and one in nine men will experience domestic violence in their lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Department of Labor reports that victims of domestic violence lose nearly 8 million days of paid work per year in the U.S., resulting in a $1.8 billion loss in productivity for employers.

A study done by the Society for Human Resource Management, found 65% of companies don’t have a formal workplace domestic violence plan in place even though 16% of organizations have had a domestic violence incident in the past five years.

According to Workplaces Respond to Domestic & Sexual Violence, employer initiatives to prevent and respond to domestic and sexual violence and stalking in the workplace should cover:

  1. Safety audits to prevent potential perpetrators’ access to the workplace and employees;
  2. Threat assessments in collaboration with employees experiencing violence; and
  3. Supportive responses in the aftermath of a violent incident.

Conduct a Security Audit

Work with law enforcement or a professional security company to determine safety and security issues. Check for the items below and other issues specific to your situation:

Employee-Centered Threat Assessments

Upon learning that an employee is facing a potential threat, you should immediately work with the threatened employee and the Human Resource department to develop a safe and effective response guided by the employee’s needs.

To protect against the workplace impacts of domestic and sexual violence and stalking, workplaces can engage in threat assessments, which are a set of strategies or pathways that provide information about individuals who might pose a risk at a point in time.

Threat assessments can discern the:

Regular threat assessment is necessary because threat level is never fixed and can change over time. For this reason, constant threat assessment is a must.

Apply the following principles when working with an employee to assess a potential threat:

Support the Employee

Don’t blame or hold a victim responsible for a perpetrator’s threats or violent actions. An employee who is facing a potential threat may also need workplace accommodations to address their own particular safety issues, such as a Protective Order, also known as a Restraining Order. Depending on the extent in which a potential threat has been directed towards a workplace, you may consider consulting with the affected employee and obtaining the order in the employer’s name or a no-trespass order covering the work site.

Other accommodations to consider include: