The Workplace Violence Prevention Act (Article 2, section 27-b of NYS Labor Law) requires public employers to develop and implement programs to prevent and minimize workplace violence and ensure the safety of public employees
Workplace violence is any physical assault or acts of aggressive behavior occurring where a public employee performs any work-related duty in the course of their employment including but not limited to:
An attempt or threat, whether verbal or physical, to inflict physical injury upon an employee;
Any intentional display of force which would give an employee reason to fear or expect bodily harm;
Intentional and wrongful physical contact with a person without his or her consent that entails some injury;
Stalking an employee with the intent of causing fear of material harm to the physical safety and health of such employee when such stalking has arisen through and in the course of employment.
All employees are responsible for notifying their supervisor or other designated contact person of any violent incidents, threatening behavior, including threats they have witnessed, received, or have been told that another person has witnessed or received. All acts of workplace violence will be promptly, and thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action will be taken, including contacting law enforcement where necessary.
The goal of this program is to reduce the probability of threats or acts of violence in the workplace and to ensure that any incident, complaint, or report of violence is taken seriously and dealt with appropriately and as expeditiously as possible.