Domestic Violence Comes to Work — and Can Cost Companies Millions

If you work with someone whom you suspect may be facing physical or emotional violence at home, step up and find a way to help them help themselves. It's not just a matter of compliance.

It could save your company millions. And it's the right thing to do.

The effect of domestic violence on the workplace may seem like a peripheral issue that's easy to ignore. But, says Deborah Wells, Executive Director of the Memphis Area Women's Council, "One in five workers surveyed said they experience domestic violence at home — but domestic violence doesn't stay at home. It comes to work where employees can be distracted, tardy or absent to deal with medical or legal issues, or they can be endangered by abusers who show up to stalk or threaten them."

Here's what the spillover of domestic violence into the workplace is costing businesses:

• OSHA requires that employers provide a safe and healthful work environment for employees. "Personal Relationship Violence" is an OSHA Type IV workplace violence. Employers who fail to protect their employees from workplace violence may face liability. According to one source, companies pay an average of $600,000 to settle workplace-violence lawsuits out of court, and the average jury verdict in such cases is $1.2 million.
• The cost of domestic violence is huge. It's estimated that domestic-violence victims lose nearly a total of 8 million days of paid work a year, which equates to over 32,000 full-time jobs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates the total annual cost of lost productivity related to workplace domestic violence at $727.8 million.

Finding help for your employees who are victims of domestic violence is more than an ethical and compliance concern. Says Wells, train your employees to "recognize, respond, and refer" when they see potential DV victims in your office, and you'll be protecting your bottom line from costly losses in productivity, insurance costs, and legal liabilities.  

Categories: Workplace Compliance