Journal Facts

Journal
Journal of Workplace Rights
ISSN
1938-4998 (print) 1938-5005 (electronic)
Volume
14
Issue
4
Date
1/1/2009

Article Facts

Title
Mental Stress and Workers' Compensation Claims among Police Officers
DOI
10.2190/WR.14.4.d
Author
George T. Patterson
Pages
441-455
Online Date
03/04/2011

Article Links

Mental Stress and Workers' Compensation Claims among Police Officers

George T. Patterson

DOI: 10.2190/WR.14.4.d

Abstract

Law enforcement is an occupation that involves a great deal of mental work stress due to the situations that police officers experience. This article reviews the types of stressful work events that are likely to result in mental stress, the issues regarding workers' compensation for mental stress claims, and interventions aimed at reducing stress among police officers. Because workers are compensated primarily for mental stress claims that arise from a work-related physical injury, practical suggestions are provided for preventing police work stress and supporting officers' workers' compensation claims for compensation for mental stress. The workplace rights articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) include the rights to work, to protection against unemployment, to nondiscrimination and equal pay, and to just and favorable conditions at work, among others. An area of workplace rights that is neglected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights concerns work-related injuries, particularly those injuries that arise as a result of mental work stress.

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