The California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan

Effective next year, employers in California will be required to maintain a workplace violence prevention plan. A recent bill (SB533) requires the workplace violence plan to be in writing, accessible to employees and must include numerous provisions including the names or job titles of the persons responsible for implementing the plan and the methods the employer will use to implement the plan.

SB533 does not cover teleworkers and places of employment where there are less than 10 employees and that are not accessible to the public, if the places are in compliance with other requirements.

The plan must also specify procedures to:

obtain the involvement of employees in developing and implementing the plan, including, identifying, evaluating, and correcting workplace violence hazards, designing and implementing training, and reporting and investigating workplace violence.

accept and respond to reports of workplace violence and prohibit retaliation.

ensure compliance with the plan.

communicate with employees regarding workplace violence.

respond to workplace violence.

develop and provide employee training.

identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards.

correct workplace violence hazards.

handle post-incident response and investigation.

review and revise the plan as needed, including, the active involvement of employees.

The employer must also record certain specific information in a violent incident log and provide employee training.

The above requirements will not become effective until July 1, 2024, giving California employers time to comply.