The headlines are all too common – “clerk in all-night convenience store shot during a robbery” or “gas station attendant assaulted.” Work can be a dangerous place, especially in certain types of occupations. Several years ago, the federal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) studied workplace assaults during the period 1993-1999. An astounding 1.7 million workplace assaults were reported. Not surprisingly, employees working alone late at night were at the highest risk, especially but not exclusively, young female employees. Small convenience stores open late were particularly dangerous, convenience store crimes being amongst the most common. Other, perhaps more surprising places of relatively high risk for employees, were hospitals and nursing homes.

Employers who fail to take simple measures to protect their workers are and ought to be liable if they are hurt. NIOSH suggested some common-sense and simple measures to improve workplace safety. These included, for example: ensuring that all workplace areas are well-lit; creating barriers such as high counters or bullet-proof windows for employees who must keep significant amounts of cash within their control; avoiding when possible, lone workers at night or in bad neighborhoods, decreasing the use of cash in favor of electronic transactions.

Workers should be explicitly instructed to never resist a demand for money or goods by a robber. Better lighting, removal of barriers between the front window and the street to increase visibility, readily accessible telephone or emergency call boxes, may all increase the safety of lone workers. While liability of employers who cut corners at the expense of their workers is just, a better solution is prevention before anyone gets hurt.