July 1st Deadline for Workplace Violence Prevention Plans!

Our prior newsletter discussed SB 553, which introduced new rules regarding workplace-violence protection in California. Under those new rules, most California employers must have an extensive workplace violence prevention plan in place by July 1, 2024. Below, we provide a refresher on the new law and some resources that can help you get ready for the upcoming deadline!  

Covered Employers 

The new law broadly applies to “all employers, employees, places of employment, and employer-provided housing,” with a select few exceptions. Those exceptions include: 

1. Employers who comply with Cal/OSHA’s Violence Prevention in Health Care requirements; 
2. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation;  
3. Certain law enforcement agencies;  
4. Employees teleworking from a location of their choice not under the employer’s control; and  
5. Workplaces inaccessible to the public with less than 10 employees present at any given time. 

Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Requirements 

Covered employers must establish, execute, and maintain an effective workplace-violence-prevention plan. The plan must be in writing, available, and easily accessible to employees, authorized employee representatives, and Cal/OSHA. It must be in effect at all times and in all work areas and tailored to address specific hazards and remedies pertinent to each work area and operation. Employers can integrate this written plan within their existing injury-and-illness-prevention program or maintain it as a separate document. 

The plan must include: 

• The names or job titles of people in charge of the plan. If multiple people are responsible, it needs to clearly explain their respective roles. 
• An explanation as to how the plan will be coordinated with other employers (i.e., if there are multiple employers at a site) to make sure everyone understands their roles.  

And it must describe procedures: 

• To get employees and their representatives actively involved in developing and carrying out the plan, such as participating in identifying, evaluating, and fixing workplace-violence issues, helping design and implement training, and reporting and investigating incidents. 
• For accepting and responding to reports of workplace violence and to ensuring no retaliation against employees who report. 
• To ensure both supervisory and non-supervisory employees follow the plan. 
• To communicate with employees about workplace-violence matters, including how employees can report a concern, how their concerns will be investigated, how employees will be informed of the results of an investigation, and any corrective actions. 
• To handle workplace-violence emergencies. 
• To develop and provide required training. 
• To identify and evaluate workplace-violence hazards, including regular inspections.  
• To correct identified hazards. 
• For responding to and investigating incidents. 
• To review and revise the plan as needed, including procedures to obtain active involvement of employees and employee representatives. Plans should be reviewed at least annually, when a deficiency is found, and after a workplace violence incident.  
• Required by the Divisions and Standards Board. 

Violent-Incident Logs 

Employers must also record information in a “violent incident log” for “every workplace violence incident.” This must include: 

1. The incident’s date, time, and location; 
2. What “type” of workplace violence was involved;  
3. A detailed description of the incident; 
4. A classification of who committed the violence (i.e., a client, customer, family member, stranger, coworker, etc.); 
5. The circumstances at the time of the incident (i.e., whether the employee was completing usual job duties, working in poorly lit areas, rushed, working during a low-staffing level, isolated or alone, unable to get help or assistance, working in a community setting, or working in an unfamiliar or new location); 
6. A classification of where the incident occurred, such as in the workplace, parking lot, or other area outside the workplace; 
7. The type of incident, including whether it involved a physical attack without a weapon, attack with a weapon, threat of physical force, sexual assault, animal attack, or other; 
8. Consequences of the incident, including whether law enforcement was contacted and the employer’s actions taken to protect employees from a continuing threat; and 
9. Information about the person completing the log, including their name, job title, and the date completed. 

The log’s information must be based on information solicited from the employees who experienced the workplace violence, witness statements, and investigation findings. Employers must omit personal-identifying information of any person involved in a violent incident.  

Trainings 

The new law also requires employers to provide employees with an initial training and annual training thereafter. The training must cover: 

1. The plan, getting a copy at no cost, and how to participate in development and implementation of the plan; 
2. The definitions and requirements of SB 553;  
3. How to report incidents or concerns to the employer or law enforcement without fear of reprisal; 
4. Workplace-violence hazards specific to the employees’ jobs, the corrective measures the employer has implemented, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and strategies to avoid physical harm; 
5. The log requirements and how to obtain copies of certain records; and 
6. An opportunity for interactive questions and answers with a person knowledgeable about the employer’s plan. 

Additional training must be provided when new or previously unrecognized violence hazards are identified or when the plan is altered. The additional training may be limited to addressing the new hazard or plan change. Finally, employers must use training material appropriate in content and vocabulary to the employees’ educational level, literacy, and language. 

Records 

The new law also has several record-keeping requirements:  

• Records related to workplace violence, including hazard identification, evaluation, and correction, must be maintained for at least five years. 

• Records of workplace-violence-incident investigations must also be maintained for at least five years. These records must not contain any medical information. 

• Training records must be created and maintained for a minimum of one year, including training dates, contents or a summary of the training sessions, names and qualifications of persons conducting the training, and names and job titles of all persons attending. 

Employers must make these records available to the Division of Occupational Safety and Health upon request. Employers must also make records relating to identifying, evaluating, and rectifying violence hazards, violent-incident logs, and training records available to employees and employee representatives upon request for examination and copying within 15 calendar days. 

Cal/OSHA Resources and Model Plan 

Cal/OSHA recently published an informative employer fact sheet that provides an overview of SB 553 and its requirements. It also published a model plan that is available for use by non-healthcare employers as a template guide. The model plan is optional, but it can serve as a valuable starting point for employers. Employers who fully utilize the model plan and comply with its instructions will likely be found in compliance with the new law.  

Conclusion 

The July 1 deadline is quickly approaching, and if you haven’t already done so, please be sure to prepare your company’s workplace-violence-prevention plans, violent-incident logs, and employee-training procedures as soon as you can. Use Cal/OSHA’s employer fact sheet and model plan to get started. You will still need to ensure that your plan aligns with the law’s requirements and is tailored to your company’s specific operations. 

If you have any questions regarding SB 553 or its requirements, feel free to reach out and we’d be happy to assist.