POLICY

It shall be the policy of the Golden Gate University further referenced as “The Organization” to provide all employees and members of the public with a safe and healthful work environment.

It shall be the policy of The Organization to take appropriate actions to protect, as fully as possible, all employees of the organization and members of the public from acts of violence, threats, intimidation, and harassment which may occur during the performance of job duties

The Organization shall also take action including involving state or local law enforcement and pursuing prosecution through judicial or other appropriate administrative remedies when such incidents occur.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the “Workplace Violence Prevention Program” is to ensure that The Organization provides employees and members of the public with a place to conduct the business of this organization free of threats, intimidation, harassment, and acts of violence.

DEFINITIONS

(1) “Emergency” means unanticipated circumstances that can be life threatening or pose a risk of significant injuries to employees or other persons.

(2) “Engineering controls” mean an aspect of the built space or a device that removes a hazard from the workplace or creates a barrier between the worker and the hazard.

(3) “Log” means the violent incident log required by this section.

(4) “Plan” means the Workplace Violence Prevention Program required by this section.

(5) “Threat of violence” means any verbal or written statement, including, but not limited to, texts, electronic messages, social media messages, or other online posts, or any behavioral or physical conduct, that conveys an intent, or that is reasonably perceived to convey an intent, to cause physical harm or to place someone in fear of physical harm, and that serves no legitimate purpose.

(6) (A) “Workplace violence” means any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment.

1. (B) “Workplace violence” includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) The threat or use of physical force against an employee that results in, or has a high likelihood of resulting in, injury, psychological trauma, or stress, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.

(ii) An incident involving a threat or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, including the use of common objects as weapons, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.

(iii) The following four workplace violence types:

(I) “Type 1 violence,” which means workplace violence committed by a person who has no legitimate business at the worksite, and includes violent acts by anyone who enters the workplace or approaches workers with the intent to commit a crime.

(II) “Type 2 violence,” which means workplace violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or visitors.

(III) “Type 3 violence,” which means workplace violence against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager.

(IV) “Type 4 violence,” which means workplace violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there, but has or is known to have had a personal relationship with an employee.

2. (C) “Workplace violence” does not include lawful acts of self-defense or defense of others.

(7) “Work practice controls” means procedures and rules which are used to effectively reduce workplace violence hazards.

We have decided to assign responsibility for security in our workplace. The Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WPVPP) Program administrator for workplace security resides in the Office of Business and Facilities and has the authority and responsibility for implementing the provisions of this program for The Organization.

All managers and supervisors are responsible for implementing and maintaining the WPVPP in their work areas and answering worker questions about the program. A copy of this program is available from each manager and supervisor.

All locations for The Organization are required to maintain a WPVPP in addition to the Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) as required by Cal/OSHA Title 8 Section 3203 and Senate Bill 553.

Manager/Supervisor – Managers and supervisors are responsible for ensuring compliance with the provisions of this Workplace Violence Prevention Program.

Employee – Employees are expected to act professionally, courteously, and responsibly at all times, which ensures compliance with the State of California’s workplace violence policy requirements. It is the responsibility of each and every employee to immediately report any and all acts or threats, suspicious activity, and workplace violence to their immediate supervisor or manager or HR without fear of reprisal. All reports must be taken seriously. The initial verbal report must be followed up with written documentation which should include the following critical information: Names of the involved parties (i.e. perpetrator, victim and witnesses), exactly what occurred, when the incident occurred, where the event took place, and if known why it happened.

The Organization is committed to ensuring that all safety and health policies and procedures involving workplace violence prevention are clearly communicated and understood by all employees. All employees are responsible for using safe work practices, for following all directives, policies and procedures, and for assisting in maintaining a safe, healthy and secure work environment. Our system of ensuring that all employees, including supervisors and managers, comply with work practices that are designed to make the workplace more secure, and do not engage in threats or physical actions which create a security hazard for others in the workplace, include:

1. Training employees, supervisors, and managers of the provisions of The Organization’s Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WPVPP) when they are hired and periodically through memos, electronic mail, staff meetings, and training.

2. Evaluating the performance of employees to ensure compliance with The Organization’s WPVPP.

3. Recognizing employees who demonstrate work practices that promote the WPVPP in the workplace by (example: verbal/written recognition by management, incentive program, etc.).

4. Providing training and/or Employee Assistance Program services to employees whose compliance is deficient with the WPVPP.

5. Disciplining employees for failure to comply with WPVPP

6. Providing employees with access to this written WPVPP

7. Public notice will be available on the internal Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA) along with the internal Human Resources webpage and a link provided in communications with new and existing employees.

The Organization ensures the following:

Employees will not be threatened with adverse action or retaliated against in any way if they refuse to report to or leave a workplace or worksite because they have a reasonable belief that the workplace or worksite is unsafe.

Employees will not be prevented from accessing their mobile or other communication devices to seek emergency assistance, assess the safety of a situation, or communicate with a person to verify their safety.

Site Specific Information

The WPVP will be available for all employees on the internal Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA) site and the Human Resources site and notice of its availability will be communicated directly to all employees via email.

The Organization recognizes that to maintain a safe, healthy and secure workplace we must communicate to all employees, including managers and supervisors, all workplace safety, health and security issues. We have a communication system designed to encourage a continuous flow of safety, health and security information between management and our employees without fear of reprisal and in a form that is readily understandable. We will communicate the WPV PREVENTION PROGRAM policies and procedures through:

1. New employee orientation.

2. Periodic review of our WPVPP with all employees, yearly, or more often if needed.

3. Training programs designed to address specific aspects of workplace violence prevention and security unique to our location. Additional online trainings can be made available via the Paycom recourse online library in the employee portal. You can contact your Workplace Violence Prevention Coordinator for more information, both the Office of Human Resources and/or Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA).

4. Posting and distributing workplace violence prevention information.

5. Reporting workplace violence/security hazards or threats of violence. (Talk to your supervisors first, if that isn’t possible, contact your Workplace Violence Prevention Coordinator – the office of Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA), for more information.

6. Effective communication between employees, managers, and supervisors about security and violence concerns, including translation where appropriate.

7. Protecting employees who report incidents of workplace violence from retaliation by the person making the threats. Employees who report incidents of workplace violence will be protected from the person making the threats by The Organization immediately taking the appropriate actions such as removing the person, making the threats, from the work area until the situation is resolved. For serious threats or acts of violence, Security and/or the local police will be called.

8. A system for workers to anonymously inform management about workplace security and violence concerns – Golden Gate University uses Ethics Point as it’s submission platform.

9. Addressing security issues at our workplace violence prevention/security team meetings. (Note: Security issues will also be discussed at safety/workplace violence/joint Safety Committee meetings. The Safety Committee will recommend solutions to management and the program administrator will implement approved solutions.

Incident Reporting Procedures

1. Call the main university phone number at 415-442-7800 or 911 if there is an emergency situation or if someone has been seriously injured.

2. Report all threats or acts of workplace violence to your supervisor or manager. If that’s not possible, report incidents to your HR representative.

3. The supervisor or manager should complete an Incident Report Form and give it to Human Resources and/or Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA). You can get these forms from Human Resources and/or Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA).

The Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA) team will perform workplace hazard assessment for workplace security in the form of periodic inspections. Periodic inspections to identify and evaluate workplace security hazards and threats of workplace violence are performed by the following observer(s) in the following areas of our workplace:

Periodic inspections are performed according to the following schedule:

1. Frequency: Monthly (depending on the circumstances of items 2 -5 below, more frequently as needed).

2. When we initially established our WPVP Program

3. When new, previously unidentified security hazards are recognized;

4. When occupational injuries or threats of injury occur; and

5. Whenever workplace security conditions warrant an inspection.

The following policies and procedures are established to ensure employee participate in designing and conducting periodic inspections to identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards.

Periodic inspections for security hazards consist of identification and evaluation of workplace security hazards and changes in worker work practices and may require assessing for more than one type of workplace violence. Our establishment performs inspections for each type of workplace violence by using the methods specified below to identify and evaluate workplace security hazards. The Department will perform workplace hazard assessment for workplace violence prevention/security in the form of periodic inspections. Periodic inspections to identify and evaluate workplace violence/security hazards and threats of workplace violence are performed by: Business Services, Facilities and Administration (BSFA).

Periodic inspections for violence prevention/security hazards consist of identification and evaluation of workplace hazards and changes in business practices, and may require assessing for more than one type of workplace violence. Our establishment performs inspections for each type of workplace violence by using the methods specified below to identify and evaluate workplace hazards.