This month, the U.S. Secret Service’s National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) released its first guide to preventing violence at work: Preventing Targeted Workplace Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Guide to Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management. The agency built its threat assessment method to protect presidents. Now it is applying more than 25 years of research to offices, restaurants, hospitals, warehouses, and stores.
The central finding matters to everyone in the workplace: workplace attacks are rarely sudden. In most cases, someone saw something first.
What the Secret Service found
NTAC studied 50 attacks at U.S. workplaces between 2016 and 2020 in which three or more people were harmed. In every case, the attacker was already “known or knowable” to the workplace:
- 43% were current or former employees;
- 39% were customers, clients, patients, or visitors; and
- 18% were current or former romantic partners or relatives of someone connected to the workplace.
Across all attackers, 92% faced major stressors in the five years before the attack, most often money problems, personal problems, or trouble at work. 78% had behaved in ways that worried the people around them. 53% had a history of domestic violence, yet only about one-third of those had ever been arrested or charged for it. Firearms were used in 86% of the attacks.
There was no demographic profile. Ages ranged from 22 to 66. The guide is clear that prevention depends on behavior, not on who a person is.
When the attacker is an employee
The numbers for current and former employees are the most telling:
- 95% acted at least partly out of a grievance, and 77% out of a workplace grievance: workload, performance reviews, discipline, termination, or conflict with supervisors and coworkers.
- 77% made concerning statements beforehand. More often than not, these were troubling remarks rather than direct threats.
- 45% had a disciplinary record.
- 36% said they had been bullied or harassed at work.
- Nearly half of the affected organizations had identifiable climate problems, from poor morale to years of discrimination and harassment.
Five attackers had been fired by the workplace they targeted. One opened fire at the end of his termination meeting. Another returned seven years after he was let go.
Harassment complaints are a safety issue
The guide describes a worker who found a noose and racist notes on his locker. He reported the harassment to HR, and the complaint was closed because it could not be corroborated. He later killed five colleagues. In another case, an employee complained of harassment and was transferred, but the harassment followed him. He stopped coming to work, was fired, and later returned and opened fire.
Nothing excuses violence. But the research shows that the same failures that lead to discrimination and retaliation claims (complaints ignored, investigations left unfinished, misconduct tolerated) also allow grievances to grow. A prompt, thorough investigation protects everyone involved.
Firing someone does not end the risk
The guide puts it plainly: “Terminating an employee does not eliminate the risk an employee poses.” Its recommendations for a safe separation include:
- Plan ahead. Tell security, IT, HR, management, and legal before the meeting so access can be cut off and the separation follows state and federal law.
- Keep it calm and private. Explain the reason in a way that lets the employee keep their dignity. Avoid blame.
- Offer a “soft landing.” Severance, extended benefits, or access to counseling can reduce the grievances that drive retaliation.
- Use an offboarding checklist. Collect badges, keys, and credentials, and shut off building, server, and file access. In one case, a hospital never revoked the badge of a physician who resigned in lieu of termination. He used it to get inside two years later.
- Take extra precautions when warranted. Hold the meeting offsite or by video, or have security present.
- Plan for after. In higher-risk cases, alert the front desk, monitor for threats, and coordinate with law enforcement.
The guide also warns against rigid “zero-tolerance” policies. They can be overly punitive, and they discourage coworkers from reporting early warning signs.
A well-drafted severance agreement can serve both sides: it gives the departing employee a soft landing and gives both parties closure.
The Secret Service’s 8-step framework
The second half of the guide lays out a scalable program for organizations of any size:
- Commit to employee safety and support.
- Establish threat assessment policy and procedures.
- Assemble a multidisciplinary team (HR, security, management, IT, legal, and mental health).
- Identify and process reports of concerning behavior.
- Gather information to assess for risk.
- Develop risk management strategies.
- Promote a safe and supportive organizational climate.
- Train all employees.
NTAC also offers free virtual training at secretservice.gov/ntac/virtual.
Florida law to keep in mind
Firearms in the parking lot are generally protected. Five employee attackers in the study kept a weapon in their vehicle on site and retrieved it for the attack. Under Florida’s parking lot law, section 790.251, Florida Statutes, most employers cannot prohibit customers, invitees, or employees authorized to carry a concealed firearm from keeping a lawfully possessed firearm locked in their private vehicle and cannot ask about or search for it. There are exceptions, such as schools, certain defense and aerospace sites, employer-owned vehicles, and property where federal law, a federal contract, or Florida law prohibits firearms. Because a workplace policy cannot address this, early identification and intervention matter even more in Florida.
Mental health is not a basis for action; behavior is. 59% of the attackers had mental health symptoms, but most people with mental health conditions are never violent. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a “direct threat” means a significant risk of substantial harm that reasonable accommodation cannot eliminate or reduce, and the finding must rest on an individualized assessment using current medical knowledge or the best available objective evidence (29 C.F.R. § 1630.2(r)). The Secret Service approach, which focuses on conduct and communications rather than diagnosis, fits that standard. Decisions based on a diagnosis invite a disability discrimination claim.
Careful hiring is documented hiring. Under section 768.096, Florida Statutes, an employer is presumed not negligent in hiring if, before hiring, it obtained an FDLE criminal background check, made a reasonable effort to contact references and former employers, used an application asking about criminal convictions and prior intentional-tort lawsuits, and either checked the driver license record (when relevant) or interviewed the applicant, and nothing in that process showed the person was unsuitable.
Domestic violence follows people to work. Nine attacks in the study were carried out by partners or relatives. In Florida, employers with 50 or more employees must allow employees with at least three months on the job to take up to three working days of leave in a 12-month period if they or a family or household member are victims of domestic violence or sexual violence (section 741.313, Florida Statutes). That leave can also be a starting point for a workplace safety plan.
Federal workplace safety law applies too. OSHA’s General Duty Clause requires employers to keep the workplace free of recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. In 2025, the Eleventh Circuit largely upheld a General Duty Clause citation against the operators of a Florida psychiatric hospital for patient violence against staff, while rejecting two proposed security-staffing measures as not shown to be economically feasible. UHS of Del., Inc. v. Sec’y of Lab., 140 F.4th 1329 (11th Cir. 2025).
Reporting concerns
If a coworker, customer, or someone’s partner is acting in a way that worries you, report it. The guide urges employers to offer confidential or anonymous reporting and to protect those who report from retaliation. Federal law (Section 11(c) of the OSH Act) prohibits retaliation against employees who file safety complaints or exercise their rights under the Act, and a complaint to OSHA must be filed within 30 days of the retaliation.
When bullying or harassment is reported and nothing changes, a written record of what happened, when, and who saw it matters, along with copies of every complaint. An employment attorney can explain the options before the situation gets worse.
How we can help
Fernée Kelly Law advises businesses and individuals across Florida on workplace violence and anti-harassment policies, internal investigations, separations and severance agreements, and harassment, discrimination, and retaliation claims, including legal action when needed.
Call (813) 315-3981, email us at contactus@ferneekellylaw.com or visit TheWorkAttorney.com to schedule a consultation.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
