State program addresses workplace violence

By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer

Nearly two years ago, copy machine repairman Byran Uyesugi walked into Xerox's Honolulu offices and opened fire, killing seven co-workers before he was captured by police several hours later. The following day, a gunman opened fire in an office in Seattle's Wallingford neighborhood, killing two employees and wounding two others.

A one-day conference at the Hawai'i Convention Center Friday, the anniversary of the Xerox murders, will try to present employers with new information to help prevent workplace violence.

"It turns out that most worksites don't do as much as they could do in preventing workplace violence," said Harold Hall, a Big Island psychologist who was the state's rebuttal witness in Uyesugi's murder trial.

Workplace slayings account for one out of every six deaths on the job, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, and more than two million people every year suffer violence or threats of violence in the workplace.

The state yesterday released its own "Workplace Violence: Prevention, Intervention, and Recovery" manual. The state attorney general's office and a volunteer working group financed by the Hawaii Community Foundation created the manual.

"Adults spend the majority of their day in the workplace. It is important for them to feel safe and secure in their work environment so they can focus on doing their jobs as best they can," said Hawai'i Attorney General Earl Anzai.

Anzai said it is the responsibility of the employer to have policies in place to deal with workplace violence, but employees must also be willing to report workplace violence incidents.

While on-the-job employee murders may trigger the biggest headlines, on-the-job violence-related fatalities are few.

A "workplace violence survey and white paper," jointly conducted by the Risk and Insurance Management Society and the American Society of Safety Engineers released in December, said workplace violence is "more than homicide.'"

It contends harassment is the "leading form" of on-the-job workplace violence, with 16 million workers harassed annually. Other violent acts include threats, stalking, inappropriate communications, trespassing, telephone and e-mail harassment, property defacing, invasion of privacy and confining or restraining co-workers.

Hall, who has evaluated hundreds of cases of violence during the past 30 years, said the study of workplace violence is a relatively new field, so many employers have not implemented prevention programs yet. Hall said many companies still choose to react to workplace violence rather than work to prevent it.

The conference workshop, sponsored by the Pacific Institute for the Study of Conflict, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

For $35, participants will receive workplace violence prevention manuals and a checklist to identify workers who could pose a risk of violence.

Presenters include City Prosecutor Peter Carlisle, attorney Michael Green who helped defend Uyesugi, and Hall, who is the founder of the Institute. Call 885-9800 to register.

Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088, or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com

Correction: A previous version of this story gave an incorrect date for the workshop.