What happened?

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) published a model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) and fact sheets, to help employers comply with the new requirement.

What are the details?

As previously reported by Vensure here, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 553, creating a new requirement for employers to have a WVPP. All employers must have that plan, either on their Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) or as a separate document. 

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) is responsible for enforcing this new law, and to help employers comply published a model from which employers can use or find inspiration to comply with the requirement.

The Fact Sheet provided by Cal/OSHA details what information and requirements must be included in the WVPP, violent incident log, training, and recordkeeping, along with additional information and resources.

Business Considerations

• Use the model for inspiration or as the template for the creation of your organization’s Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.
• Use the fact sheet to properly create or tune the policies that the plan must have.
• It is not just a matter of having a document prepared on time, because the law also requires that employers provide employees with initial training when the WVPP is first established and document that such training took place, meaning that employees must be trained under the WVPP by July 1, 2024. The training must also take place annually thereafter.

Resources

• Cal/OSHA’s model workplace violence prevention plan
• Cal/OSHA’s employer fact sheet 
• Workplace Violence Prevention Page

Source References

• California Poised to Require Workplace Violence Prevention Plans (VensureHR)
• Cal/OSHA Publishes Model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan, Resources (California Chamber of Commerce)
• Preparing Your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Just Got a Little Easier – CalOSHA Issues a Model Plan & Other Resources (Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corporation.)
• California DIR Releases Guidance for Drafting Workplace Violence Prevention Plans (CDF Labor Law LLP)

This communication is intended solely for the purpose of conveying information. The present post might incorporate hyperlinks directing readers to websites managed by third-party entities. The inclusion of any links within this communication is meant to serve as points of reference and could encompass opinion articles from various law firms, articles from HR associations, official websites, news releases, and documents of government agencies, and other relevant third-party sources. Vensure has no authority over these external websites and bears no responsibility for their content. Furthermore, Vensure does not endorse the materials present on these websites. The contents of this communication should not be interpreted as legal advice or as a legal standpoint concerning specific facts or scenarios. Nor should it be deemed an exhaustive compilation of facts potentially pertinent to federal, state, or local laws. It is strongly advised that employers solicit legal guidance from an employment attorney when undertaking actions in response to any legal updates provided. This is due to the possibility of future alterations occurring in federal, state, and local laws, regulations, as well as the directives and guidelines issued by governing agencies. These changes may transpire at any given time, potentially rendering certain portions of the content within this update void or inaccurate.