Labor & Employment Blog
WHAT CAN AN EMPLOYER DO? QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE SHOOTINGS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA – HUNTSVILLE
Posted February 17, 2010
Author: Leigh Anne Yeargan
On Friday, February 12, 2010, during a biology department meeting on the campus of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, Dr. Amy Bishop – a member of the department who had recently learned that she was being denied tenure – reportedly opened fire killing three of her colleagues and severely wounding three others. Investigation by authorities into Dr. Bishop’s past uncovered two previous incidents of alleged violence. Twenty-four years prior to the Huntsville shooting, Dr. Bishop fatally wounded her brother which was ruled accidental at the time. In 1993, Dr. Bishop was questioned, but never charged, in an attempted mail bombing of a Harvard professor.
           The shootings and subsequent discovery of Dr. Bishop’s alleged past acts have raised the obvious question: What actions, if any, can an employer take to prevent workplace violence? The answer, unfortunately, is neither simple nor clear.
           Many employers conduct criminal background checks on employees prior to hiring them. However, as the Huntsville shooting has demonstrated, criminal background checks may not prove helpful. Because Dr. Bishop was never charged with the death of her brother or in the attempted bombing, neither of these incidents would have appeared on a criminal background check at the time of her hire at the University.
           It is also increasingly difficult for employers to obtain information about applicants from the applicants’ past employers. Fearful of being sued by the former employee for defamation or tortious interference, employers often resort to only relaying the “name, rank and serial number” – or name, position, salary, and dates of employment – of the applicant.
           In Arkansas, an employer may be liable for negligent hiring or supervision if “the employer knew, or in the exercise of ordinary care should have known, that its employee’s conduct would subject third parties to an unreasonable risk of harm.” Therefore, an employer must exercise “reasonable care” in selecting and retaining employees.
           What constitutes “reasonable care” is ultimately a decision that a jury may have to make. However, an employer should consider taking the following steps when hiring potential employees:
-Do ask an applicant about all places that he has worked previously and the names of his supervisors
-Do contact previous places of employment and obtain as much information as possible about the applicant
-Do contact all persons listed or identified as references for the applicant
-Do ask strategic interview questions (e.g., “How do you ‘blow off steam’ when you are mad about something?”)
-Do consider obtaining a credit report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act
-Do consider requiring an applicant to sign an authorization pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 11-3-204 which provides former employers some protection for providing information about former employees such as whether the former employee made any threats of violence in the workplace
-Do train supervisors on how to recognize warning signs of “troubled employees”
