California employers should be aware that a revised standard for workplace violence prevention plans will likely be implemented soon. SB 553, enacted in September 2023, requires employers to implement workplace violence prevention plans and directs the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (the “Board”) to issue a related standard by Dec. 31. The comment period on a revised standard has now passed, meaning the Board is expected to finalize the new standard in the coming months. 

If adopted, the current draft standard would require most employers to maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan addressing hazard assessments, anonymous reporting and anti-retaliation procedures, emergency response, employee involvement, training, incident investigation, corrective actions, and periodic review. The standard would apply broadly to workplaces, employer-provided housing, and employer-provided transportation under the employer’s control, but would exempt healthcare settings, certain correctional and qualifying law enforcement facilities, and telework locations outside employer control.

The most recent draft makes several targeted changes from the prior versions. It reinstates “uncontrolled public access” as a distinct hazard factor, removes stalking from the listed hazard factors (with the explanation that it will instead be addressed in future guidance as an example of workplace violence), clarifies that appropriate staffing levels as an example of a “work practice control” shall be “based on the employer’s workplace violence hazard assessment,” and adds that employee assistance program counseling can satisfy the trauma-counseling requirement. It also deletes a proposed exception that would have limited employer responsibility for texts, electronic messages, and personal social media not known to the employer.

Employers should be prepared to update their workplace violence prevention plan, revise policies and training on their plan, and prepare for compliance. Employers should work with counsel to ensure their plans comply with the updated standard once it becomes final.