Resolution calling upon the New York State Department of Labor ("NYSDOL") and the Hazard Abatement Board ("HAB") to promptly implement a meaningful and enforceable safety standard to prevent violence in the workplace.
By Council Member Davis
Whereas, Public sector workers of the City of New York continue to be victims of crime in the workplace, including murder, rape, assault, verbal abuse and harassment; because of hazardous working conditions and the absence of any systematic method for removing these dangers, workers, and their families continue to suffer as a result of unnecessary and preventable incidents of violence at work; and
Whereas, Working conditions in many agencies of the City of New York are unsafe due to a number of factors, including lack of security; frequently working alone; an absence of policy on how to handle violent clients; poor reporting systems; inadequate or no alarm systems; and fear of retribution by management for reporting incidents; further, an uncertain legal definition as to what constitutes workplace violence makes each incident a question of who is at fault, instead of a warning sign for prevention of a recognized occupational hazard; and
Whereas, Additionally, Management's claims that an incident was not work-related or that it was the victim's fault also contributes to the denial of salary and benefits for workers who are the victims of workplace violence, further resulting in the serious problem of under-reporting of incidents; and
Whereas, Previous steps to prevent workplace violence through collective bargaining, joint labor management committees, voluntary security policies of City employers, although resulting in some improvements at certain worksites, have generally failed to achieve an adequate provision of safety in New York City workplaces; assaults, abuse and harassment continue and workers are routinely raped, traumatized, and seriously injured while on the job; and
Whereas, Absent any specific safety standard to prevent workplace violence for public employees, 1.2 million public sector workers in New York State and hundreds of thousands in New York City are at the mercy of management who have the luxury of self-enforcement with no external authority to monitor their actions; reforms to this current system must be implemented including: centralizing the reporting of incidents, demanding remedies and, when appropriate, penalizing offenders/employees accordingly; and
Whereas, Lacking a specific safety standard to prevent workplace violence, the employer and the unions representing the employees are in constant battle over numerous policies in multiple workplaces that change as frequently as management and administrations come and go; establishing a standard would go a long way toward clarifying for the employer as well as the employee and their union representatives, what the legal minimum is for preventing workplace violence, thereby making compliance easier and the provision of safety swifter for all parties involved; and
Whereas, While the current situation is inadequate, a reasonable remedy is within reach; since the Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau ("PESH") is currently responsible for safety enforcement in the workplace for public employees, a potential enforcement mechanism already exists; NYSDOL should promulgate a new safety standard to prevent workplace violence and to bring will bring multiple agencies at thousands of worksites working together under the same legal mandate and thereby remedy this serious occupational hazard that threatens the lives and livelihood of civil servants in New York City and throughout the State of New York; and
Whereas, Many unions are affected, with varying numbers of members who work for different agencies, each with their own level of commitment to preventing workplace violence; a workplace free from violence must be created for all workers through the promulgation of a safety standard; a standard will give unions with less numbers of workers and those in agencies that have shown no or only minimal commitment to providing a secure workplace, an equal chance of keeping their members safe from harm; currently, their well-being depends on what safety provisions can be won at the bargaining table, at grievance hearings and through the work of a limited number of union health and safety staff; a standard would put the burden of safety where it belongs, on the employer; and
Whereas, Since the Triangle Shirtwaist fire at the beginning of the last century, New York City and New York State has had a proud bipartisan tradition of leading the country to safer workplaces and stronger and more effective worker protection measures and this legacy must be allowed to continue; now, therefore, be it,
Resolved, That the New York City Council calls upon the New York State Department of Labor ("NYSDOL") and the Hazard Abatement Board ("HAB") to promptly implement a meaningful and enforceable safety standard to prevent violence in the workplace.