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NASA Ball NASA
Policy
Directive
NPD 1600.3
Effective Date: September 04, 2007
Expiration Date: December 04, 2026
COMPLIANCE IS MANDATORY FOR NASA EMPLOYEES
Printable Format (PDF)

Subject: Policy on Prevention of and Response to Workplace Violence (Revalidated on May 14, 2021)

Responsible Office: Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer


Change History

Change#
Date
Description
1
04/30/2014 Updated In accordance with NPR 1400.1F, edited paragraph 1, 2 and 3; moved applicable documents not contained in the body of the NPD to Attachment B: References; added Attachment A: Definitions; updated organizational titles; added required content in Paragraph 7, Measurements. Replaced "contractors" with "non-NASA personnel working on/in a NASA facility" in paragraphs 1.a, 1.c, 2.a, and 5.e in accordance with guidance from the Office of Procurement Policy.
2
05/14/2021 Directive has been revalidated to include the following changes:

• Revised the title Assistant Administrator for Human Capital, Management to "Chief Human Capital Officer" to reflect the update of the Mission Support Enterprise Organization titling practice.

• Removed reference to NPR 3752.1, Disciplinary and Adverse Actions in Attachment B as NPR 3752.1, Disciplinary and Adverse Actions has been cancelled.


1. POLICY


a. NASA places the highest priority on the health and safety of its employees, contractors, resident agencies and other tenants, and visitors and will support management in its efforts to deal with incidents of workplace violence. Therefore, it is NASA's policy that acts of violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, and other disruptive behavior involving a direct or indirect threat of physical harm are prohibited. All employees and non-NASA personnel working on/in a NASA facility shall immediately report incidents involving workplace violence. This policy also covers any incidents involving individuals from outside the Agency perpetrating violence against Agency employees.

b. In addition to physical acts against people or property, such behavior can also include oral or written statements, gestures, or expressions that communicate a direct or indirect threat of physical harm to self and others. Management officials shall deal with such behavior immediately and appropriately, and those who commit such acts may be immediately removed from the premises, denied reentry pending completion of an appropriate investigation, and may be subject to administrative and/or disciplinary action, including removal, criminal prosecution, or both.

c. All employees and non-NASA personnel working on/in a NASA facility shall comply with the workplace violence prevention policies as set forth in applicable laws and regulations. As outlined in this NASA Policy Directive (NPD), Centers will develop procedures for responding to and managing incidents and threats of workplace violence. All policies and procedures will be uniformly enforced.

d. All information regarding an incident and/or threat of workplace violence, including but not limited to names of involved parties, witnesses, reports and investigations of allegations, and/or findings of workplace violence, will be treated confidentially to the extent practicable. Statements and reports may be used as evidence in administrative and/or criminal proceedings.

2. APPLICABILITY

a. This NPD is applicable to NASA Headquarters and NASA Centers, including Component facilities and Technical and Service Support Centers, and non-NASA personnel working on/in a NASA facility.

b. In this NPD, all mandatory actions (i.e., requirements) are denoted by statements containing the term "shall." The terms "may" or "can" denote discretionary privilege or permission, "should" denotes a good practice and is recommended, but not required, "will" denotes expected outcome, and "are or is" denote descriptive material.

c. In this directive all document citations are assumed to be the latest version unless otherwise noted.

3. AUTHORITY

a. Programs of Federal Agencies, 29 U.S.C. § 668.

b. National Aeronautics and Space Act, 51 U.S.C. § 20113(a).

4. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS AND FORMS

a. NASA Desk Guide for the Prevention of and Response to Workplace Violence, February 2008 (or latest version).

5. RESPONSIBILITY

a. The Chief Human Capital Officer for Human Capital Management, the Assistant Administrator for Protective Services, and the Chief Health and Medical Officer shall:

(1) Provide direction, oversight, and training for Agency prevention of and response to workplace violence policy and procedures.

(2) Establish and properly train an Agency core Workplace Violence Prevention and Threat Assessment Team whereby, at a minimum, representatives from the Office of the General Counsel, the Office of Protective Services, the Office of Chief Human Capital Officer, and the Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer will evaluate and make recommendations regarding the Agency's workplace violence prevention and response program. The NASA Office of the Inspector General will be an exofficio member of the team.

(3) Members of the Agency Threat Assessment Team may also call on representatives from one or more of the following:

(a) Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity.

(b) Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.

(c) Unions, where applicable.

(d) Employee Assistance Program.

(e) Office of Communications.

(f) Technical and Service Support Centers.

(g) Contractor Management.

(h) Representative(s) from the concerned Center.

(i) Any other program representative, as needed.

b. Center Directors shall:

(1) Develop and implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Program and establish a Threat Assessment Team to meet Center needs in accordance with this NPD and the NASA Desk Guide for Prevention of and Response to Workplace Violence.

(a) The Center Threat Assessment Team shall consist of, at a minimum, the core group of personnel represented in paragraph 5a.(2).

(b) Any additional permanent membership is at the discretion of the Center Director.

(2) Ensure that there is a properly trained Threat Assessment Team in accordance with this NPD.

(3) Ensure that annual training is provided to the workforce to foster workplace violence prevention and public safety awareness.

(4) Ensure that security police, officers, other first responders, and others, as appropriate, receive training specifically designed for responding to and managing incidents of workplace violence.

(5) Establish and maintain a 24-hour Workplace Violence Prevention Hot-Line, or use existing hot-line capability to report threats and/or incidents of workplace violence.

c. The Office of the Inspector General shall:

(1) Per the Office of Protective Services/Office of the Inspector General agreements, participate, as requested, on Agency and center-level Workplace Violence Threat Assessment Teams and, if requested, respond to and investigate instances of workplace violence in collaboration with the Office of Human Resources and/or Center security offices.

d. Supervisors and Managers shall:

(1) Promote workplace violence prevention programs within their organizations through personal involvement.

(2) Support Center workplace violence prevention training efforts by encouraging employee attendance.

(3) Promptly report all threats, brought to their attention, to their management, Office of Human Resources and, as appropriate, the Office of Protective Services and/or the Employee Assistance Officer. Ensure that events are properly investigated and addressed.

e. Employees and Non-NASA personnel working on/in a NASA facility shall:

(1) Refrain from making threats or engaging in workplace violence.

(2) Report all acts or threats of violence to their immediate supervisor and, as appropriate, the Office of Human Resources and/or the Office of Protective Services.

f. Any person on a NASA facility who is the subject of, or a witness to, threatening behavior or a violent act, shall report the incident to their immediate supervisor or the Office of Protective Services.

6. DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY

None.

7. MEASUREMENT/VERIFICATION

The Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management, in partnership with the Offices of Protective Services and the Chief Health and Medical Officer, will establish Agency evaluation requirements and conduct periodic reviews for program effectiveness as necessary.

8. CANCELLATION

NPD 1600.3 Policy on Prevention of and Response to Workplace Violence, dated September 4, 2007.


Revalidated May 14, 2021 (w/change 2), Original signed by:


/s/ Michael D. Griffin


ATTACHMENT A: Definitions(TEXT)

Threat Assessment Team. An interdisciplinary team that assists management with the assessment of potential threats to the safety in the workplace, development and implementation of action plans that address prevention and response to any type of violence that impacts the safety and security of the NASA workplace.

Workplace Violence. Can be a single behavior or series of behaviors that constitute actual or potential physical assault, battery, harassment, physical, verbal, written, psychological intimidation, threats or similar actions, attempted destruction, or threats to the safety and security of the workplace or the employee's personal property, which occur at the employee's official duty location or at an alternative work location or while an individual is engaged in NASA official business or activities off site. In addition to physical acts against people or property, behavior covered by this policy also includes oral or written statements, gestures, or expressions that communicate a direct or indirect threat of physical harm to self and others. Workplace violence may affect or involve employees, visitors, contractors and other non-Federal employees.

ATTACHMENT B: References(TEXT)

Presidential Memorandum, Establishing Policies for Addressing Domestic Violence in the Federal Workforce, April 18, 2012.

Guidance for Agency-Specific Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, and Stalking Polices, U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), ES/SWP/WLPC, February 2013.

Dealing with Workplace Violence: A Guide for Agency Planners, OPM, OWR-09, February 1998.

NPD 1382.17, NASA Privacy Policy.

NPD 1800.2, NASA Occupational Health Program.

NPR 1800, NASA Occupational Health Program Procedures.

(URL for Graphic)

None.

DISTRIBUTION:
NODIS


This document does not bind the public, except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract. This document is uncontrolled when printed. Check the NASA Online Directives Information System (NODIS) Library to verify that this is the correct version before use: https://nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov.