Think Inc.
A forum for Hawaii's
business community to discuss
current events and issues
Think Inc.
A forum for Hawaii's
business community to discuss
current events and issues
Safety comes first | Estate-planning lingo BACK TO TOP
|
DAVID SWANN / DSWANN@STARBULLETIN.COM Employers, as well as property managers and owners, need threat assessment and management plans to avoid workplace violence. Safety comes first
By John Tsukayama
Employers, as well as commercial property managers, are seeing much more violence than reported in the media. Recent cases in Honolulu have included:
>> an employee who threatened a co-worker whose voice he didn't like;While these threats did not develop into actual attacks, the risks to individuals, other employees, nearby tenants and the general public cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, many of the "common sense" action steps do not work well in workplace violence.>> an insurance company claimant making a telephone threat against a claims adjuster;
>> a receptionist who was threatened by her estranged boyfriend, who brandished a firearm in a building lobby;
>> a law firm threatened by a tenant facing eviction.
Plan a response
Workplace violence rarely occurs without warning signs. When employers and property managers are informed of these signs, it is prudent for them to do more than hope for the best.Property managers in particular - the people who operate buildings that house dozens of businesses and hundreds of employees - may decide that tenants are responsible for their own problems and take a wait-and-see approach. Unfortunately, this ignores the opportunity to prevent violence.
Another approach is to notify the police. But because police resources are in short supply, reports of threats usually result in the routine of taking information. It is exceedingly rare for a police department to have a threat management unit with trained personnel skilled in choosing the appropriate intervention for a given situation. The Honolulu Police Department, for example, does not have such a unit.The more common response from police is to advise in obtaining a restraining order. But countless domestic violence homicides clearly show that a judicial order will not stop a determined assailant.
These responses may actually worsen the situation, yet they are usually the ones taken by those who are understandably afraid of operating under circumstances that they are neither trained nor equipped to handle.
The expertise required to assess and manage these high-risk situations cannot be expected to be found among the typical property managers or security officers at commercial properties. On-site personnel can examine appropriate access control measures; however, property managers and security officers should not give threat management advice to tenants.
Assessment
While nothing can guarantee complete safety in a volatile situation, doing nothing means that the only person in control is the potential assailant. The best response is to carefully choose the correct threat management steps after a prudent and thorough assessment is completed.In the best circumstances, the employer and property manager work together to gather information and present it to trained threat assessment management professionals who can provide a management plan for each unique set of circumstances.
Property managers can only make informed decisions about the welfare of a property's tenants and visitors after receiving sufficient information. The threat assessment management professionals may enlist the aid of other expert consultants - such as attorneys, psychologists or psychiatrists - in crafting the management plan. It will be up to the property's management and ownership to decide what recommendations to adopt.
Considerations
In some cases the tenant hires the outside threat assessment management consultants and keeps the property informed. In most instances, however, tenants are reluctant to share details of customer or employee problems with property managers.In other cases, the property manager hires consultants and offers the services to the tenant with the understanding that safety and security considerations of all tenants and visitors to the property will be of paramount importance during the threat assessment management process.
In all cases, some consideration should be given to having outside legal counsel engage the services of the threat assessment management consultants in order to keep case information confidential.
It is important that employers and property managers thoroughly examine the credentials of those engaged to provide threat assessment and management services. A combination of training, actual experience and access to specialized resources are crucial to safely managing these high-stakes situations and preventing workplace violence.
John Tsukayama is director of Pacific Threat Management, a division of Safeguard Services Inc. Reach him at ptm@safeguard-hi.com. BACK TO TOP
|
[ YOUR ESTATE MATTERS ]
Some people feel uncomfortable meeting with an attorney to discuss their estate planning needs because of an unfamiliarity with the law. Knowing the right
terminology can make
estate planning proceed
comfortablyBy Judith Sterling
and Michelle TuckerA good lawyer will discuss your available options in simple terms that a person with no legal training can comprehend. You can also relieve some of that hesitancy by familiarizing yourself with legal terminology before meeting with a qualified estate planning attorney to discuss the appropriate choices for you. The following is a short list of common legal terms that may come up in an estate planning meeting:
Attorney-in-fact: A person who is named under a power of attorney to act on behalf of another personTake just a few minutes to familiarize yourself with this short list of estate planning terms and keep it handy for future reference.Beneficiary: A person or entity that receives a benefit from an estate, trust or asset transfer vehicle
Death probate: The legal process used to assemble and transfer a decedent's assets to the intended beneficiaries and settle a decedent's outstanding debts
Decedent: A person who has passed away
Donee: A person or entity who receives a gifted asset from a donor
Donor: A person or entity who gifts an asset to another person or entity
Estate: All the assets owned by a decedent upon his or her death
Executor/personal representative: The person responsible for settling a decedent's estate
Grantor: A person who transfers an asset to another person or entity
Guardian of the person: A court-appointed supervisor in charge of the care of a minor or incompetent person's physical well-being
Guardian of the estate: A court-appointed supervisor in charge of the care of a minor or incompetent person's financial well-being
Hui: An informal partnership particular to Hawaii
Irrevocable trust: A trust in which the trustor has not reserved the right to revoke and cannot change the wording in the trust
Living trust: A trust established and operating during the trustor's lifetime
Revocable trust: A trust in which the trustor reserves the right to revoke
Testator: The creator of a Will
Trust: A legal arrangement created to facilitate the transfer of property to a trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary
Trustee: A person or entity named in a trust agreement to be responsible for holding and administering the trust assets according to the terms of the trust
Trustor: A person who creates a trust sometimes called grantor or settlor
Will: A legal document used to transfer assets upon a decedent's death
Lawyers generally receive four years of undergraduate schooling followed by a minimum of three years in law school in order to learn the law. A good lawyer will be patient with you and explain those terms that are unclear to you. Familiarizing yourself a little bit with the law can make your estate planning experience more comfortable.
Be sure to meet with a qualified attorney specializing in estate planning who listens carefully to your particular needs.
Judith Sterling and Michelle Tucker are partners in the Honolulu law firm of Sterling & Tucker. Reach them throught their Web site, www.sterlingandtucker.com, or call 531-5391.
To participate in the Think Inc. discussion, e-mail your comments to business@starbulletin.com; fax them to 529-4750; or mail them to Think Inc., Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. Anonymous submissions will be discarded.
