California Senate Bill (SB) 553

DISCLAIMER: The following information is a summary of SB 553 and should not replace an individual or organization’s obligation to read the original bill in full.

On September 30, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 553, which requires virtually every California employer to take certain steps to prevent and respond to workplace violence. The new law adds Section 6401.9 to the Labor Code and goes into effect on July 1, 2024. Among other items, all employers will now be required to create and implement a workplace violence prevention plan and incident log as part of their injury and illness prevention programs. 

What Does the New Law Require?

Covered employers must establish, implement and maintain an effective workplace violence prevention plan. Requirements for such a plan include:

• Designating persons responsible for the plan.
• Effective procedures to obtain the active involvement of employees and authorized  employee representatives in developing and implementing the plan.
• Methods the employer will use to coordinate the plan with employees, when applicable.
• Effective procedures for the employer to accept and respond to reports of workplace violence, and to prohibit retaliation against an employee who makes such a report.
• Effective procedures to communicate with employees regarding workplace violence, including how to report a violent incident, threat or other workplace violence concern; effective means to alert employees to the presence of a workplace violence emergency; and how to obtain help from staff assigned to respond and/or law enforcement.
• Procedures to identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections, and to correct any identified hazards.
• Procedures for post-incident response and investigation.
• Procedures to review and revise the plan as needed, including with the active involvement of employees and authorized employee representatives.
• Provide both initial and annual employee training, including content on workplace violence hazards specific to the employees’ jobs, the corrective measures the employer has implemented, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and strategies to avoid physical harm. 

Employers must also keep various records as specified in the new law, including:

• Records of workplace violence hazard identification, evaluation and correction.
• Training records.
• A violent incident log for every workplace violence incident.
• Records of workplace violence incident investigations.

These records must be maintained for at least five years and be produced to Cal/OSHA upon request. Requirements include retention of records for at least five years.

Who is exempted from SB553?

The new law contains a few limited exceptions. It does not apply to employers already covered by California’s existing workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare, employees teleworking from a location of their own choice that is not under the employer’s control, places of employment where there are fewer than 10 employees working at the place at any given time and that are not accessible to the public, and a few other small exceptions (mostly in the public sector). If you have any questions about whether your organization is exempted, please contact your employment counsel.