Last September, California Senate Bill 553 was signed into law requiring virtually all California employers (with limited exceptions) to implement and maintain a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) by July 1, 2024. The new law is codified at Labor Code section 6401.9. The required elements of the written WVPP are: - Identification of those individual(s) responsible for implementing the plan;
- Involvement of employees and their representatives in the plan;
- Procedures to accept and respond to reports of workplace violence;
- Procedures to communicate with employees regarding workplace violence matters, including how to report an incident without fear of retaliation;
- Procedures to respond to actual and potential workplace violence emergencies;
- Developing and providing effective training;
- Procedures to identify, evaluate, and correct workplace violence hazards; and
- Performance of post-incident responses and investigations.
The obligation to have a written WVPP is in addition to an employer’s obligation to implement and maintain a written Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). Training In addition to the implementation of a WVPP, employers are required to administer training to employees on the initial plan and annually thereafter, as well as when a new or previously unrecognized workplace violence hazard is identified and when changes are made to the plan. The trainings include topics such as how to report workplace violence incidents or concerns, identification of workplace violence hazards specific to the employees’ jobs, corrective measures that have been implemented, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and strategies to avoid physical harm. Recordkeeping Records of workplace violence hazard identification, evaluation and correction must be created and maintained for a minimum of five years. Training records must be created and maintained for a minimum of one year. These records must be made available to employees and their representatives for examination upon request and without cost within 15 days of the request. Next Steps Employers are encouraged to speak with competent counsel who can advise on the steps necessary to comply with their obligations to establish and maintain a customized WVPP and to train their employees by no later than July 1, 2024. For further information, contact the authors of this Update or your own employment attorney. Reprinted with permission from KMR Law | 
