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OSHA and inappropriate behavior?

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I”m in HR. A co-worker (who is currently under psychiatric care) got very angry at me over a minor issue and stated that he was so mad he wanted to put his fist through the wall. I felt uncomfortable and told my supervisor of the incident. The supervisor told me to try to understand how he felt. Would personal safety from a co-worker be covered under OSHA?

OSHA does have guidelines on how employers should prevent workplace violence. They can be found here: http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html By all means, share them with your employer.

However, we\’re less concerned with this coworker\’s remark, than with how you know he is under psychiatric care. That is confidential medical information, and unless you are the administrator on the health insurance plan, you should not know it. That information is protected under HIPAA, and under ADA, cannot be the basis for any type of employment decision. (It is possible that the coworker voluntarily shared that info with you. In that case, under HIPAA, you are legally prohibited from telling anyone else.)

You seem to think that this employee has an anger management problem, but people get psychiartic care for many reasons, including depression, grief, everyday stress, divorce, and excessive hand-washing. We would respectfully submit that the employee acted appropriately. He did not punch you, and he did not punch the wall. He informed you, verbally, that he was very angry. (Although this was a minor matter to you, it obviously wasn\’t to him.) That sounds appropriate to us. By all means, if the employee destroys property,threatens you or touches you in any way, report it to your employer and to the police.