Workplace Violence Prevention Program Under New Law: Your 5-Step Compliance Plan

Summary

California lawmakers were pushing an aggressive legislative proposal this year that would have required almost every employer in the state to comply with a workplace violence prevention standard developed with healthcare employers in mind. This was despite the fact that Cal/OSHA had been working on a standard that would apply to general industries. Thankfully for employers, SB 553 (codified as Cal. Lab. Code § 6401.9) was amended late in the legislative session to essentially codify the proposal that Cal/OSHA had already been working on and remove some of the more controversial and burdensome requirements. As a result, many business groups dropped their opposition to the bill and Governor Newsom signed it on September 30. But the new law will still impose significant obligations on almost all non-healthcare employers in the state by July 1, 2024. Here's what you need to know about the specific requirements and the top five steps you should take to comply.