Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Requirement, Effective July 1st
The new law SB 553 goes into effect July 1, 2024 and will require most California employers to have a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.
All California employees and employers are covered by SB 533 with the following notable exemptions:
Places of employment where less than 10 employees are working at any given time, and the location is not accessible by the public. The location must also be in compliance with Cal/OSHA’s Injury & Illness Prevention Program standard.
Employees teleworking from a location of their choice that is not under the employer’s control.
Healthcare facilities already covered by Cal/OSHA’s Workplace Violence in Healthcare standard.
Requirements for the Prevention Plan:
Prohibiting Retaliation: Employees must be protected from retaliation when they report incidents of violence.
Handling Reports: Employers must have procedures to accept and respond to reports of workplace violence.
Training and Communication: Employees should receive training and annual refreshers about workplace violence prevention and how to handle incidents.
Emergency Response: Clear protocols must be in place for responding to emergencies related to workplace violence.
Hazard Assessments: Regular assessments should be conducted to identify and address potential workplace violence hazards.
Violent Incident Log: Employers must maintain a detailed log of all violent incidents, including those that do not result in injury.
Reporting Serious Incidents:
Employers are required to report serious injuries, illnesses, or deaths related to workplace violence to Cal/OSHA immediately.
Additional regulations related to workplace violence can be found in sections 342 (Reporting Work-Connected Fatalities and Serious Injuries), 3203 (Injury and Illness Prevention), and 14300 (Employer Records-Log 300) of the California Code of Regulations.
Recordkeeping Obligations:
The Workplace Violence Prevention Plan must be written and accessible to employees, representatives, and Cal/OSHA officials.
Records of hazard identification, evaluation, and corrections must be kept for at least 5 years.
Training records should be maintained for at least 1 year.
Violent incident logs must be kept for a minimum of 5 years and must detail the date, time, location, type, description, and circumstances of each incident.