California Senate Bill 553 (SB 553) amended the Civil Code procedures 527.8 and Labor Code sections 6401.7 and 6401.9. The new Civil Code changes hold employers accountable. They may now seek restraining orders against employees or employee representatives for potential workplace violence or threatening behavior.
By July 1, 2024, employers must implement a workplace violence prevention plan, start an incident log, and complete employee training, as mandated by the Labor Code changes. This move underscores the growing recognition of maintaining employees' safety and well-being in response to increasing numbers of workplace violence incidents and fatalities. Cal/OSHA has until 2025 to propose and until 2026 to adopt a new Title 8 standard (check out the current draft language here).
The following are some of the key aspects of the code changes and implications for California employers.
Scope
SB 553 casts a wide net, including virtually every employer in California. Whether you're a small business owner or part of a large corporation, compliance with this legislation is non-negotiable.
The law directly addresses the rising concerns surrounding workplace violence by requiring prescriptive, proactive plans from employers across all sectors and industries.
There are very few exemptions to the employers covered by the requirements, but these include:
- Healthcare facilities and operations already subject to the Cal/OSHA violence in healthcare standard.
- Employers that comply with the violence in healthcare standard.
- Qualifying law enforcement agencies.
- Employees teleworking at locations of their choice.
- Worksites with fewer than 10 employees that do not have public interaction.
These exemptions, however, still require the employers to meet the workplace violence hazard recognition, correction, and training requirements under the Cal/OSHA Injury and Illness Prevention standard (IIPP) if they are applicable to their workforce and locations.
Risk assessment development
Employers are now tasked with developing and implementing a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan tailored to their internal procedures and to each employee’s job and workplace violence risks and hazards.
Companies must identify hazards, implement corrective actions to address them, and communicate these hazards and actions to employees through training. It's not a one-size-fits-all approach; the strategy must be customized for each work task and environment.
To address this challenging task effectively, employers can:
- Implement an overarching plan and general violence prevention training supplemented by detailed information for each unit, job description, and location.
- Delegate the risk assessment process to supervisors, safety coordinators, or safety committee members who are familiar with the specific work units and locations and provide them with training on these procedures and job tools to use at the unit-, job-, and location-specific level.
- Use training sheets to document and convey the job-specific hazards, corrective actions, and procedures to affected employees. Keep a record of the employer's compliance efforts to meet the new code's requirements.
Breaking down the plan procedures and involving knowledgeable individuals from different areas can help employers develop an effective, comprehensive, and customized plan.
Detailed procedures
The plan does not stop at hazard evaluation and corrective actions. The updated California codes require documentation of the employer’s specific procedures, including:
- Designating individuals or teams to oversee the implementation and enforcement of the prevention plan.
- Clear protocols for implementation, including reporting and responding to incidents of workplace violence, harassment, or threats.
- Establishing emergency response procedures, training records, and logs.
- Maintaining the incident log and other records for the plan.
In part two, we’ll explore the importance of involving and training employees, and the consequences of non-compliance.
Get more information
Read more from Kerri in Shielding the workforce: Workplace violence prevention. Watch out for the upcoming insights paper Workplace violence prevention: What have we learned? For further health, safety, and well-being insights, read Getting a true picture of your workplace well-being by David Natalizia. Find out more about BSI Consulting’s health, safety, and well-being services.
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