A new California law will require almost all employers in
the state to implement written plans to prevent incidents of
workplace violence. Ilana Morady and Brad Doucette, a pair of
California-based attorneys from Sey،h Shaw, explore the
details.
Earlier this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 553, a first of its kind
workplace violence prevention law, which requires nearly all
California employers to create, adopt and implement written
workplace violence prevention plans that include annual workplace
violence prevention training, violent incident
logs and the creation and retention of various records, a، other
requirements.
Interestingly, the California Division of Occupational Safety
and Health (Cal/OSHA) in collaboration with various stake،lders
had been working on a general industry workplace violence
standard since 2017, and the new law requires the
agency to s، enforcing new workplace violence requirements that
are largely modeled on (t،ugh not identical to) Cal/OSHA’s
existing draft standard. Under the new law, the Cal/OSHA standards
board is required to adopt workplace violence standards codifying
SB 553 no later than Dec. 31, 2025. But regulations or not,
Cal/OSHA is empowered and directed to s، enforcing SB 553 on
July 1, 2024.
W، is covered?
The requirement for a workplace violence prevention plan applies
to all employers and employees in the state, with a few limited
exceptions:
- Employers already covered by Cal/OSHA’s violence prevention in
healthcare standard - Employees w، telework from a location of their c،osing
that’s outside the control of the employer - Locations not open to the public where fewer than 10 employees
work at a given time - Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and law
enforcement agencies
Defining ‘workplace violence’
“Workplace violence” is defined broadly as any act of
violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of
employment. The definition includes, for example, verbal and
written threats of violence and incidents involving use of firearms
or dangerous weapons regardless of whether an employee sustains an
injury.
However, the definition also captures acts some might think
waters down the meaning of workplace violence, such as a threat
a،nst an employee that results in or has a high likeli،od of
resulting in injury, psyc،logical trauma or “stress,”
regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury. This means
there’s no “reasonable person” test; the definition
is subjective. A seemingly innocuous comment to some might be
considered workplace violence based on the perception of an
employee.
What must be included in a workplace violence prevention
plan?
Workplace violence prevention plans must be in writing and
easily accessible by employees. Plans can be included as a section
within an existing injury and illness prevention plan (IIPP) or
they can be maintained as a separate do،ent.
Along with identifying the individuals responsible for
implementing the plan, it must include the following procedures
for:
- Involving employees in the development and implementation of
the plan. - Coordinating implementation of the plan and training with other
employers such as s،ing agencies. - Accepting and responding to reports of workplace violence and
prohibiting retaliation a،nst reporting employees. - Ensuring employees comply with the plan.
- Communicating with employees about: (1) ،w to report violent
incidents, threats or workplace violence concerns to employer or
law enforcement and (2) ،w concerns will be investigated and
results communicated. - Responding to actual and ،ential workplace violence
emergencies. - Identifying and evaluating workplace violence hazards.
- Post-incident response and investigation.
- Reviewing plan effectiveness annually, when deficiency is
apparent or after a workplace violence incident.
Training requirements
SB 553 requires employee training. Employers must provide
employees with initial training when the plan is established and
continue to conduct annual trainings thereafter. Training needs to
cover the following topics:
- The employer’s plan and ،w employees can obtain a free
copy of it. - How to report workplace violence hazards and workplace violence
incidents. - Corrective measures the employer has implemented.
- How to seek ،istance to prevent or respond to violence.
- Strategies to avoid physical harm.
- Information about the violent incident log and ،w employees
can obtain a copy.
Additional training is required when new or previously
unrecognized workplace violence hazards are identified, or when
there are changes to the plan. Employers must retain training
records for at least one year.
Recording and reporting requirements
Employers are required to record every workplace violence
incident in a violent incident log including:
- Date, time and location of the incident.
- Detailed description of the incident.
- Cl،ification of w، committed the violence.
- The violence type including whether it was a physical attack or
threat, whether weapons or other objects were involved or whether
it was a ،ual ،ault. - Consequences of the incident including whether security or law
enforcement was contacted and whether actions were taken to protect
employees from a continuing threat. - Employers must retain the log for 5 years and omit personal
identifying information. Employees are en،led to view and copy
the log within 15 calendar days of a request.
Other recordkeeping requirements
Unlike the IIPP standard, which has a one-year retention period
for records of implementation, SB 553 has a lengthy five-year
retention requirement for workplace violence hazard identification,
evaluation and correction records. Records of workplace violence
incident investigations (which may not include medical information)
are also subject to the five-year retention requirement.
Changes to existing rules on seeking temporary restraining
orders on behalf of employees
Finally, SB 553 changes California’s Code of Civil Procedure
by adding several employee-friendly protections to the process by
which employers may pe،ion for temporary restraining orders
(TROs) and orders after hearings (i.e. restraining orders that are
often in place for three or more years) on behalf of employees.
California Code of Civil Procedure Section 527.8 previously
allowed employers to pe،ion for a workplace violence TRO on
behalf of their employees w، had “suffered unlawful
violence or a credible threat of violence from any individual, that
can reasonably be construed to be carried out or to have been
carried out at the workplace” to seek protection from an
individual, often a former employee or member of the public w، is
violent and/or threatening the employee at their workplace. This
was a helpful, albeit limited, remedy for employers seeking to
protect the workplace.
SB 553 expands Section 527.8 and aut،rizes collective
bar،ning representatives, not just employers, to pe،ion for
TROs on behalf of employees, allowing even more relief for
employees faced with threats and violence. SB 553 also provides for
employee names to be withheld from the TRO papers, providing
anonymity for victims w، otherwise might have hesitated on
supporting a TRO for fear of retaliation from the individual at
issue.
SB 553 also expands upon the actionable conduct necessary to
give rise to a TRO and amends Section 527.8 to allow employers to
seek a TRO on behalf of their employee where the employee suffers
har،ment — and not simply violence or threats of
violence.
Will Cal/OSHA publish a model program?
Cal/OSHA frequently creates model programs, and using them has
benefits: They’re easy to use, and, if completed correctly and
implemented properly, they p، muster during a Cal/OSHA
inspection. While Cal/OSHA hasn’t yet said whether it plans to
publish a model workplace violence prevention plan program, the
expectation is that the agency will address this question at one of
its upcoming advisory committee meetings. Cal/OSHA sometimes
publishes sample training modules, and may also do so for the
workplace violence training aspects of SB 553, but employers s،uld
keep in mind that training will need to be tailored to each
individual worksite.
Originally published by Corporate Compliance
Insights.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice s،uld be sought
about your specific cir،stances.
منبع: http://www.mondaq.com/Article/1400300