Workplace Violence Prevention – SB 553

Workplace Violence Prevention

 Effective July 1, 2024, California Senate Bill 553 is in effect and enforceable regarding workplace violence prevention.  SB 553 is California’s Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Law to help protect the well-being of employees of California businesses by putting safety measures in place that have a focus on preventing workplace violence.

Business owners need to understand SB 553  to be compliant with the law and avoid penalties and fines, which could up up to $25,000.  The full text of the bill can be read at this link.

Who Does the Law Apply to

The new law applies to businesses in California with a few exemptions, which are listed below:

• Health Care Facilities, service categories, and operations that are covered by Section 3342 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations
• Employers that comply with Section 3342 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations
• Facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if the facilities are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations
• Employers that are law enforcement agencies that are a “department or participating department,” as defined in Section 1001 of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations, and that have received confirmation of compliance with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program from the POST Executive Director in accordance with Section 1010 of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations. However, an employer shall be exempt pursuant to this subparagraph only if all facilities operated by the agency are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
• Employees teleworking from a location of the Employee’s choice
• Places of employment where there are less than 10 employees working at the place at any given time and that are not accessible to the public, if the places are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations

What is Workplace Violence?

Section 6401.9 of the Labor Code defines “Workplace violence” as any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment.

Examples of this can include threats or use of a firearm, threats or use of a dangerous weapon, which can include everyday objects that are being used as a weapon.  There does not have to be an injury sustained for it to be considered workplace violence.

The use of physical force, or the threat of using physical force against an employee that has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, stress, or psychological trauma is also workplace violence and an injury does not have to be sustained.

The Labor Code has four definitions of workplace violence, types 1 through 4.

• Level 1 – violence committed by a person with no legitimate business at the worksite
• Level 2 – workplace violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or visitors
• Level 3 – violence against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager
• Level 4 – Violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there but had or is known to have a personal relationship with an employee

Compliance with SB 553

SB 553 requires employers to put together a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.   Cal/Osha has created a template for businesses to use, that can be found on their General Information page for SB 553, which I will link at the bottom of the blog, or you can reach out to Laura at Fixated Financial and Insurance Solutions at [email protected] and request a copy be sent to you.

The SB 553 requires are:

• Create a Workplace Violence Plan that is comprehensive and includes the following elements: identify hazards, corrective procedures, management and employee responsibilities, safety training, reporting system, and measures for compliance. This can be standalone or included as part of an existing Injury and Illness Reporting Program.
• Employee training – Effective July 1, 2024, and annually after that, employees must have training on how to recognize, prevent, and respond to violence in the workplace.
• Incident Logs
• Recordkeeping requirements regarding identification and evaluation of hazards and corrective actions taken for five years, as well as training records, violent incident logs, and investigation logs.

Osha has an overview page for this law, including links to their model WPV here.

As workplace violence becomes more frequent, insurance companies have created insurance plans to cover this exposure.  We can help companies find coverage to help find a Workplace Violence Expense Insurance policy to help protect their business.  Coverage usually includes crisis management expenses, public relations expenses, independent security guard expenses, victim and replacement work salaries, expenses for medical, dental, and mental health costs for employee victims, legal costs, rehabilitation expenses, and more.  Violence and threats of violence, are traumatic and disruptive, and insurance can help both your business and your employees.

Contact Laura at [email protected] or Veronica at [email protected] for an application for a no-obligation coverage quote.

Photo Credit – Image by Ryan McGuire from Pixabay