California Employers Required to Have a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

On September 30, 2023, California Senate Bill 553 (SB 553) was signed into law, requiring California employers to develop, implement and maintain a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan as of July 1, 2024. SB 553 amends Labor Code 6401.7 and adds section 6401.9, relating to occupational safety. SB 553 aims to mitigate workplace violence by requiring employers to establish basic protections for employees.

Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
SB 553 requires a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan that includes but is not limited to the following:

• accepting and responding to reports of workplace violence;
• conducting workplace violence hazard assessments;
• maintaining a Violent Incident Log;
• prohibiting employee retaliation;
• providing employee workplace violence training and communication; and
• responding to actual and potential emergencies.

The Workplace Violence Prevention Plan may be incorporated as a standalone section in the written Injury and Illness Prevention Program required by Cal/OSHA or maintained as a separate document.

Definition of Workplace Violence
Labor Code 6401.9 defines “workplace violence” as any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment, excluding self-defense or defense of others. The definition further encompasses (1) the threat or use of physical force against an employee that results in, or has a high likelihood of resulting in, injury, psychological trauma or stress, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury, and (2) an incident involving a threat or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, including the use of common objects as weapons, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.

Types of Workplace Violence
Acts of workplace violence in California have been categorized into four major types.

• “Type 1 Violence” is violence committed by a person who has no legitimate business at the worksite and includes violent acts by anyone who enters the workplace or approaches workers with the intent to commit a crime.
• “Type 2 Violence” is violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates or visitors.
• “Type 3 Violence” is violence against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager. Type 3 Violence can be directed toward a co-employee, supervisor, partner or manager of an individual who may be seeking revenge for what they perceive as unfair treatment at the workplace.
• “Type 4 Violence” is violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there but has or is known to have had a personal relationship with an employee.

Some occupations and workplaces may be subject to more than one type of workplace violence. An example is when a convenience store employee can be fatally injured at the retail workplace during a robbery (Type 1), or during a personal dispute with a non-employee (Type 3).

Violent Incident Log
Employers are required to maintain a Violent Incident Log for each workplace violence incident, recording at least the following:

• date, time, location;
• description and circumstances;
• workplace violence type;
• classification of who committed the violence (was perpetrator a client, customer, family, etc.);
• consequences of the incident, including any law enforcement involvement; and
• corrective actions.

Violent Incident Logs and records of workplace violence hazard assessments and investigations are to be maintained for a minimum of five years.

Cal/OSHA states OSHSB is required to adopt its forthcoming workplace violence standard no later than December 31, 2026. In the meantime, note that employers must immediately report to Cal/OSHA any work-related serious injury, illness or fatality, including incidents resulting from workplace violence.

Contact your regular Pillsbury contact or the authors of this alert for recommendations on how to comply with the new requirements and address the forthcoming standard to the extent practicable.