Joseph, Greenwald & Laake principal Brian Markovitz has recently contributed to Bloomberg BNA’s article “Mass Shooting Attacks: Protecting the Workplace” by providing his legal perspective of how employers can protect themselves against active shooter situations and threats. The article discusses all aspects of protection and prevention: from the different types of screenings that businesses can conduct to reviewing safety drills. Additionally, Markovitz talked about how to manage employees who may become violent.
‘‘You can go through somebody’s background check and pick up domestic violence or criminal activity. Basic Google searches can help if the person is putting up crazy stuff on a Facebook page. But often, you just can’t tell, and that is one of the consequences of allowing individuals to have easy access to weapons,’’ stated Markovitz.
Physical preparation is key Markovitz also noted. ‘‘Safe rooms’’ can be easy and economical to construct by drilling out the floors under doors to install doorjambs, as his firm has done. ‘‘In mass shootings, the shooters, after targeting certain people, if they encounter a door that is jammed, they will just move on,’’ he said. Depending on budget, companies also can install ‘‘slides like people use to escape from airplanes’’ and windows that can be kicked out if escape is necessary. Simplest of all, the front-desk person should have a panic button to call the police, he said.
The way the firing is handled can mean a lot and have an impact on an employee. ‘‘Always terminate on Friday after work hours, or at the end of the day, when there are not a lot of people there, so the employee is not humiliated—so you don’t have to do the ‘walk of shame,’ ’’ Markovitz suggested. ‘‘Don’t give reasons, and don’t get into an argument.’’
Given the increase in active shooter scenarios over the last few years, Brian’s advice should prove helpful to business owners concerned with their workers’ safety. Brian is a principal in JGL’s Labor and Employment and Civil Litigation practice groups. He primarily works on helping those who have suffered workplace injustices. For his work, Brian has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 100 trial lawyers.
To read the article, please click on the Bloomberg BNA logo below.
Reproduced with permission. Published June 28, 2018. Copyright 2018 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800-372-1033)http://www.bna.com.
