How do you handle a death threat from an employee?

Answer 1

All threats of violence in the workplace, whether stated directly or indirectly, should be taken very seriously.

If you become aware of a threat against you or another employee, contact your supervisor immediately, who should then contact your human resource office, Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) office, and security or law enforcement department.

When you do express your concerns to your supervisor or HR division, be prepared to answer these following questions:

1) When, where and at what time you received the threat;

2) What was the exact wording, if possible, of the threat;

3) What was your initial response to the threat;

4) Were there ever previous incidents you have had with the employee; and

5) Has the employee ever made any other threats?

It's important to have all of your facts available regarding the death threat.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) states that there may be a need to keep the threatening employee away from the work site to ensure safety while the investigation is being conducted. For the short-term, supervisors can place the employee on paid administrative leave or if possible, relocate them to another work site or division if there is a source of conflict. Long-term options may include issuing disciplinary actions (i.e., alternative discipline, demotion, reprimand, warning), indefinite suspension or indefinite enforced leave.

Of course, another option is for the recipient of the threat or harassment to simply find another place of employment. This situation happens too often because employers or managers maintain an "it can't happen here" mentality, so victims of workplace violence end up quitting their jobs.

If there is no imminent threat and your question is at this point theoretical, you may want to review OPM's handbook, Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners, which provides insightful guidelines on how to deal with various types of workplace violence. However, it is the responsibility of each departmental agency to develop their own guidelines and policies.

One word of warning: if a threat has been made, sitting down to discuss work disagreements or disputes is simply not a viable option. Talk of employees "going postal" may be amusing when it's at someone else's office, but not when it hits home.

Doug Kane of Risk Control Strategies, a threat management and risk assessment firm that specializes in workplace violence prevention, said that in 2006 approximately "86 percent of past workplace violence incidents were visibly apparent to co-workers" and had been brought to management's attention "prior to an incident occurring." Kane added that the most disturbing part is that 75 percent of these incidents "continued to develop as a result of management's inaction or inappropriate actions."

Regardless of the presence or lack of policy for dealing with workplace violence threats, do not hesitate to report the threat to your immediate supervisor or someone in management whom you feel will take your concern seriously. Hopefully, your agency will err on the side of caution to provide a cooling off period and properly investigate the situation before taking proper precautionary action.