California employers are facing a significant compliance challenge with the state’s recently enacted Senate Bill 553 (SB 553). Last year, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, which requires employers with at least 10 employees in California to develop and implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) by July 1, 2024.
Employers will likely have to coordinate with multiple internal stakeholder groups, making it challenging to comply with the new law. California is the first state in the nation to pass such a sweeping WVPP law, setting the precedent that other states are expected to follow.
Understanding The Mandate
The law mandates that employers provide thorough training to all employees, covering a range of critical elements. The training must include instructing employees how to report concerns to their employer and to law enforcement. The training must also cover:
- The statute's definition of workplace violence.
- The four types of workplace violence – criminal intent, customer/client, worker-on-worker, and personal relationship.
- The employer’s plan.
- The workplace violence hazards specific to the employees’ jobs.
- How employees can protect themselves in the event of a workplace violence incident.
- Employees may request to review or copy the employer’s records relating to the workplace violence prevention plan, including the violent incident log that the statue requires. The log must include a detailed description of each workplace violence incident and be maintained for five years.
What This Means For Managers
Managers will need guidance on the breadth of conduct covered by the law and the necessary reporting procedures. Managers must ensure that employees fully understand the meaning of workplace violence, including but not limited to the four workplace violence types:
- Criminal intent: This type of violence generally won’t have a legitimate relationship with the business or its employees.
- Customer/client: Involves a customer, client, patient, or visitor becoming violent towards an employee, often due to disputes over service, products, or perceived mistreatment.
- Worker-on-worker: Violence between coworkers, including bullying, frequently manifests as verbal and emotional abuse that is unfair, offensive, vindictive, and/or humiliating.
- Personal relationship: The perpetrator has a personal relationship with the employee outside of work, such as a domestic partner, and brings that violence into the workplace.
Tracking Incidents
Employers must also maintain detailed logs of all workplace violence incidents for at least five years, which employees can request to review. Employers should also consider whether workplace violence concerns can be incorporated into their existing reporting procedures for safety issues. Ensuring clear communication around this requirement will be key to encouraging reporting without deterring employees.
Include Your Employees
Employees should also have a role in the planning process because they are the ones who will bring the issues to HR. Every employee has a role in keeping the workplace safe and that should be the focus of the training.
More Laws To Come
Beyond the WVPP, California employers will need to prepare for other new employment laws taking effect in 2024, such as the increase in paid sick days and the new bereavement leave policy. Managers will likely require training on navigating these bills as well.
Need Support Managing These Mandates?
Navigating the complexities of workplace violence prevention and government mandates is a significant challenge for employers. GMS can provide expert guidance on ensuring compliance with these new laws and mandates. With GMS, you can remove the time spent worrying about missing legislative updates that may affect your business. Our team will help you create a combative strategy to ensure your operations continue running smoothly and safely. Contact GMS to learn more!