ASSEMBLY LABOR COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1656

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: SEPTEMBER 19, 1996

      The Assembly Labor Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1656.

      This bill requires each private employer of five or more employees, the State, and each local public employer to evaluate, in cooperation with its employees and any labor organization representing its employees, all factors which put their employees at risk of workplace assault or homicide. The employer is required to develop and implement a program to minimize workplace violence, including employee training and a system for the ongoing reporting and monitoring of incidents and situations involving violence or the risk of violence. The bill requires that the program be described in a written violence prevention plan made available to affected employees and any labor organization representing them. The plan shall include a list of factors endangering the employees, a description of the approach that the employer will use to address each factor, such as the use of security, equipment, changes in job design, staffing, and employee training; and a description of a system designed to monitor violence in the workplace.