DOJ Seeks Input To Improve Workplace Violence Data Collection

by Shannon Allen

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (“BJS”) of the Office of Justice Programs of the Department of Justice (“DOJ”), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), and the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) are joining together to request input to improve BJS’s data collection and reporting regarding nonfatal workplace violence in the National Crime Victimization Survey (“NCVS”).  The notice document was issues by the CDC and NIOSH and BJS request public comment on these issues.

Work related violence is a widespread hazard to employee safety and health.  NIOSH is in charge of “conducting research to prevent workplace injuries and illnesses.”  The DOJ’s BJS collects data on “rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault against persons age 12 or older” through the NCVS.  The NCVS supplies information about “victims . . . offenders . . . and the nature of the crime . . . .”   And the BJS publishes special reports on workplace violence.

This request for comment is part of a larger “BJS effort to re-design and increase the utility of nonfatal violence data collected through the NCVS.”  In particular, the NIOSH and BJS seek public comment on:

1. methods to identify work-related violence using the existing variable structure within the NCVS;
2. additional suggested enhancements to improve the ability of the NCVS to describe the prevalence, patterns, and trends in workplace violence;
3. the best combination of variables to determine work-relatedness of the violent incident;
4. the first and second best choices for a combination of variables to identify work-related violence and why (see the NCVS crime incident report instrument);
5. any other suggested enhancements to improve the ability of the NCVS to report on workplace violence (the BJS and NIOSH are currently exploring two enhancements); and
6. suggested revisions to the categories of occupations that are used in reports (e.g. sample size and the ability to reliably report on specific occupations).

Interested parties must submit comments, including the agency name and docket number (CDC–2013–0020; NIOSH–269) by November 27, 2013.  Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments; OR
• Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS–C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226.