As COVID-19 vaccinations continue, companies embrace hybrid work, employees return to the office and the U.S. opens up, violence and physical threats to businesses are occurring at an unsettling, record-high pace, according to a new study commissioned by the Ontic Center for Protective Intelligence.

There’s been a global shift in workplace policy in the corporate world. The default of day-to-day workplace for employees in headquarter locations has been reimagined as flexibility has become essential for anyone navigating the past year and a half.

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has put out a free online course for organizations to assess their COVID-19 workplace risk.

The Department of Justice announced two new steps to help address gun violence in the U.S. The department issued a notice of proposed rulemaking and published model legislation to help states craft their own “extreme risk protection order” laws, sometimes called “red flag” laws.

According to the Emergency Nurses Association, healthcare workers account for approximately 50% of all victims of workplace violence. But they're not the only ones either. There are reports of increased domestic violence and workplace violence around the world as a result of lockdowns from the pandemic, increased stress levels and a lower threshold for confrontation.

Virginia becomes the first state in the U.S. to permanently enact COVID-19 workplace safety and health standards. In addition to requiring all public-facing employees to wear masks, the standards ensure ready access to hand sanitizer and the regular cleaning of common work spaces. Employers must train employees on COVID-19 safety and to develop infectious disease and preparedness response plans. The new permanent regulations include guidelines for returning to work and communicating about employees who test positive and potential exposures. 

According to the first national survey conducted in Singapore regarding sexual harassment, two in five workers in the country report being sexually harassed at the workplace in the past five years.