On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 553, establishing a new workplace violence prevention standard in California. SB 553 came into effect on July 1, 2024, and the new law requires virtually every California employer to implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan with very specific requirements.
Quick Hits
- Cal/OSHA released a revised discussion draft of a proposed workplace violence prevention standard for general industry (non-healthcare settings).
- The draft proposal includes definitions of engineering controls and work practice controls, and it would require employers to communicate with “authorized employee representatives” and employees regarding workplace violence matters.
- Comments on the proposed standard are due by September 3, 2024, and an advisory committee hearing will be scheduled later this year.
SB 553 requires the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) to propose a workplace violence prevention standard by December 31, 2025, consistent with SB 553, containing any additional workplace violence prevention requirements Cal/OSHA “deems necessary and appropriate to protect the health and safety of employees.” The new law also requires the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt a standard by December 31, 2026.
Cal/OSHA was previously working on a proposed general industry standard for the prevention of workplace violence, and it issued a revised discussion draft in May 2022. On July 15, 2024, Cal/OSHA issued another revised discussion draft, consistent with SB 553, and it added several requirements. The most significant additions in the draft include
- examples of “engineering controls” and “work practice controls” that an employer can utilize to prevent workplace violence;
- a requirement that employers communicate with “authorized employee representatives,” as well as employees, regarding workplace violence matters and the results of workplace violence investigations, among other things;
- a requirement that employers create and maintain records of workplace violence complaints and investigations; and
- a requirement that employers implement specific procedures for post-incident response and investigation, including “[p]roviding immediate medical care or first aid to employees who have been injured in [an] incident,” and, “[f]or employers with more than 25 employees, making available individual trauma counseling to employees affected by the incident.”
The revised discussion draft of July 15, 2024, also outlines examples of workplace violence hazards.
Cal/OSHA has stated that it will hold an advisory committee meeting later in the year to solicit input on the draft workplace violence prevention standard, but it has not yet scheduled a date. The Division will accept written comments through September 3, 2024.
