In a single year, workplace assaults cause 57,610 injuries. On average, there are 1.3 million incidents of workplace violence each year. As a result of these statistics, Governor Newsom signed a new law about workplace violence prevention. Starting July 1, 2024, all employers will have to follow this law if they have 10 or more workers.
What Is the New Law on Workplace Violence Prevention?
While it was passed on September 30, 2024, Cal/OSHA’s Workplace Violence Prevention Plan doesn’t take effect until July 1, 2024. However, companies need to be prepared for this change because they are expected to have a written plan in place from day one.
The new law requires employers to do five specific tasks. Each employer must create a plan, train workers, get employee feedback on the plan, log violent incidents, and keep records of the workplace’s compliance.
How to Develop a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
Creating a workplace violence prevention plan doesn’t have to be challenging. Cal/OSHA has done an incredibly good job detailing exactly what employers must do. Additionally, they’ve provided short guides on violence prevention that break down the step-by-step requirements involved.
1. Use the Cal/OSHA Model Plan
In the podcast episode “California OSHA: Workplace Violence Prevention Plan” with Mission to Grow, Mary Simmons, the VP of HR compliance at Asure, discussed the new violence prevention rules. When it comes to using the Cal/OSHA model plan, Simmons says, “Our advice is always just use theirs. It’s just so much easier and streamlined. It’s going to meet the requirements.”
The Cal/OSHA version includes all the definitions and terms you need to cover with your employees. You can modify it for safety hazards that are specific to your workplace. The model prevention plan is a fillable template, so you’ll need to replace any of the red text with your own answers.
2. Remember the Things Your Plan Must Include
Whether you use the Cal/OSHA plan or create your own, there are specific things your plan must include. Remember to incorporate the following factors so that your plan is in compliance with the law.
Names
You must detail who is responsible for implementing the plan.
Compliance
Workplaces must describe how they will get employees and supervisors to comply with the plan.
Employee Involvement
Employers must describe how they will engage employees in creating the plan.
Report Responses
You must discuss what your workplace will do to handle reports of workplace violence. Additionally, employers will have to consider ways to prevent retaliation against employees who report incidents.
Communication
Your plan must describe how you will communicate with your employees about incidents of workplace violence, updates to your plan, training requirements, and other matters.
Emergency Response Protocols
Your business should cover its response to different types of violence.
Training Requirements
Workplaces are required to train employees and supervisors on violence prevention, so include training provisions in your plan.
Violence Identification Procedures
The plan must also discuss the ways you will identify new sources of violence that are discovered at any point in time. You must also identify and evaluate hazards at set intervals.
Correction Mechanisms
Your plan must discuss how you will correct the hazards your workplace has identified in a timely way.
Post-Incident Response
The workplace violence prevention plan must go over your procedures for investigating and responding to an incident.
Plan Review Procedures
You should cover your procedures for reviewing the plan on an annual basis. The plan should also be reviewed whenever there is a violent incident or a new deficiency is discovered.
Additional Procedures for Health and Safety
If you need to carry out any other procedures for your employees’ health and safety, you should detail the procedures in your plan.
3. Keep the Plan in Effect at All Times
Once you’ve put the plan into place, it needs to be used. It should be considered in effect at all times. Additionally, the plan must be in effect in all work areas.
It’s also important to remember that you must retrain workers on the plan every year. Between training sessions, the written plan must be readily accessible to your workers. For instance, you could keep a laminated copy on the sales floor or a digital copy in the payroll system your team uses.
4. Incorporate Violence Prevention Training Into Your Onboarding
Employees are required to be trained in workplace violence prevention, and they must be retrained annually. They must also have access to your written plan at all times.
Because of this, you may want to incorporate your workplace violence prevention plan into your employee handbook and onboarding training. Cal/OSHA has also explicitly stated that you can include this plan as a stand-alone section in your injury and illness prevention program.
5. Update Your Plan as Needed
Under the new law, workplaces are expected to fulfill a feedback requirement. At its heart, this requirement means you need to get worker input and feedback on the plan, provisions, potential hazards, and incident responses. While this feedback will typically happen during your annual training session, it can also occur as incidents happen and hazards are discovered.
Once you get feedback from your employees, you must follow the procedures in your workplace’s plan to update the plan and accommodate the new feedback. Then, employees will be trained on the new plan at the next training session.
Will Cal/OSHA Be Auditing Companies on Workplace Violence Prevention?
Fortunately, Cal/OSHA has already come forward and said that they won’t be auditing the majority of workplaces on their violence prevention plans. However, you may get audited if a worker files a complaint or an incident happens.
Even if auditing won’t be a standard practice, you should still follow Cal/OSHA’s rules. If you have a claim and aren’t in compliance, the fines will quadruple. Because of this, it’s important to do your best to follow the law as soon as possible.
Get More Information on Preparing Your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
Employers are expected to provide their workers with a safe, healthy work environment. The new law on workplace violence prevention is in keeping with this mission. While compliance may take a few hours of your time, you can find model plans and a lot of support through Cal/OSHA.
Need help with challenging HR tasks like workplace violence prevention plans, connect with one of our small business HR experts for certified HR support that meets your needs and budget.