Major expansion of required California employer injury/safety and violence prevention compliance programs – California SB 553

California Senate Bill 553 which was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 30, 2023, is lengthy and covers several different pieces of legislation. Two of the lengthy provisions require most and sometimes all California employers to implement injury/safety and violence prevention compliance programs. The provisions are detailed, and yet, as is typical with legislation, also are vague in parts and contain uncertainties. It must be stressed that all California employers need to be aware of these provisions. There will be a lot of legal discussions about these provisions. Below I have pasted select wording from the required injury/safety and violence prevention provisions to give you an overall feel for what employers will be looking at – the below pasted provisions are not the entire provisions pertaining to injury/safety and violence prevention provisions – you will need to read the entire legislation. I am also providing below a link to a discussion about new 2024 California employer requirements by Saul Ewing – there is a discussion about SB 553 in the larger article in addition to other new 2024 requirements.

The following is the link to the Saul Ewing discussion https://www.saul.com/insights/article/2024-brings-new-obligations-california-employers

The following is the select wording from SB 553 pertaining to required injury/safety and violence prevention compliance programs (again, the select wording below is not the entirety of the relating legislation – you will need to obtain a complete copy of SB 553):

Senate Bill No. 553

CHAPTER 289

An act to amend, repeal, and add Section 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and to amend Section 6401.7 of, and to add Section 6401.9 to, the Labor Code, relating to occupational safety.

[ Approved by Governor September 30, 2023. Filed with Secretary of State September 30, 2023.]

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Required injury/safety compliance programs:

SEC. 3.

 Section 6401.7 of the Labor Code is amended to read:

6401.7.

 (a) Every employer shall establish, implement, and maintain an effective injury prevention program. The program shall be written, except as provided in subdivision (e), and shall include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

(1) Identification of the person or persons responsible for implementing the program.

(2) The employer’s system for identifying and evaluating workplace hazards, including scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices.

(3) The employer’s methods and procedures for correcting unsafe or unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner.

(4) An occupational health and safety training program designed to instruct employees in general safe and healthy work practices and to provide specific instruction with respect to hazards specific to each employee’s job assignment.

(5) The employer’s system for communicating with employees on occupational health and safety matters, including provisions designed to encourage employees to inform the employer of hazards at the worksite without fear of reprisal.

(6) The employer’s system for ensuring that employees comply with safe and healthy work practices, which may include disciplinary action.

(7) A workplace violence prevention plan conforming to the requirements of Section 6401.9.

(b) The employer shall correct unsafe and unhealthy conditions and work practices in a timely manner based on the severity of the hazard.

(c) The employer shall train all employees when the training program is first established, all new employees, and all employees given a new job assignment, and shall train employees whenever new substances, processes, procedures, or equipment are introduced to the workplace and represent a new hazard, and whenever the employer receives notification of a new or previously unrecognized hazard. An employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use employee training provided to the employer’s employees under a construction industry occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to comply with the requirements of subdivision (a) relating to employee training, and shall only be required to provide training on hazards specific to an employee’s job duties.

(d) The employer shall keep appropriate records of steps taken to implement and maintain the program. An employer in the construction industry who is required to be licensed under Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code may use records relating to employee training provided to the employer in connection with an occupational safety and health training program approved by the division to comply with this subdivision, and shall only be required to keep records of those steps taken to implement and maintain the program with respect to hazards specific to an employee’s job duties.

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Required violence prevention compliance programs:

SEC. 4.

 Section 6401.9 is added to the Labor Code, to read:

6401.9.

 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Emergency” means unanticipated circumstances that can be life threatening or pose a risk of significant injuries to employees or other persons.

(2) “Engineering controls” mean an aspect of the built space or a device that removes a hazard from the workplace or creates a barrier between the worker and the hazard.

(3) “Log” means the violent incident log required by this section.

(4) “Plan” means the workplace violence prevention plan required by this section.

(5) “Threat of violence” means any verbal or written statement, including, but not limited to, texts, electronic messages, social media messages, or other online posts, or any behavioral or physical conduct, that conveys an intent, or that is reasonably perceived to convey an intent, to cause physical harm or to place someone in fear of physical harm, and that serves no legitimate purpose.

(6) (A) “Workplace violence” means any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment.

(B) “Workplace violence” includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) The threat or use of physical force against an employee that results in, or has a high likelihood of resulting in, injury, psychological trauma, or stress, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.

(ii) An incident involving a threat or use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, including the use of common objects as weapons, regardless of whether the employee sustains an injury.

(iii) The following four workplace violence types:

(I) “Type 1 violence,” which means workplace violence committed by a person who has no legitimate business at the worksite, and includes violent acts by anyone who enters the workplace or approaches workers with the intent to commit a crime.

(II) “Type 2 violence,” which means workplace violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or visitors.

(III) “Type 3 violence,” which means workplace violence against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager.

(IV) “Type 4 violence,” which means workplace violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there, but has or is known to have had a personal relationship with an employee.

(C) “Workplace violence” does not include lawful acts of self-defense or defense of others.

(7) “Work practice controls” means procedures and rules which are used to effectively reduce workplace violence hazards.

(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section applies to all employers, employees, places of employment, and employer-provided housing.

(2) Subject to paragraph (3), the following employers, employees, and places of employment are exempt from this section:

(A) Health care facilities, service categories, and operations covered by Section 3342 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(B) Employers that comply with Section 3342 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(C) Facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, if the facilities are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(D) Employers that are law enforcement agencies that are a “department or participating department,” as defined in Section 1001 of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations and that have received confirmation of compliance with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program from the POST Executive Director in accordance with Section 1010 of Title 11 of the California Code of Regulations. However, an employer shall be exempt pursuant to this subparagraph only if all facilities operated by the agency are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(E) Employees teleworking from a location of the employee’s choice, which is not under the control of the employer.

(F) Places of employment where there are less than 10 employees working at the place at any given time and that are not accessible to the public, if the places are in compliance with Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the division may, by issuance of an order to take special action, require an employer that is exempt pursuant to paragraph (1) to comply with this section or require an employer to include employees or places of employment that are exempt pursuant to paragraph (1) in their compliance with this section.

(c) (1) (A) An employer shall establish, implement, and maintain an effective workplace violence prevention plan.

(B) The plan shall be in writing and shall be available and easily accessible to employees, authorized employee representatives, and representatives of the division at all times. The plan shall be in effect at all times and in all work areas and be specific to the hazards and corrective measures for each work area and operation. The written plan may be incorporated as a stand-alone section in the written injury and illness prevention program required by Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations or maintained as a separate document.

(2) The plan shall include all of the following:

(A) Names or job titles of the persons responsible for implementing the plan. If there are multiple persons responsible for the plan, their roles shall be clearly described.

(B) Effective procedures to obtain the active involvement of employees and authorized employee representatives in developing and implementing the plan, including, but not limited to, through their participation in identifying, evaluating, and correcting workplace violence hazards, in designing and implementing training, and in reporting and investigating workplace violence incidents.

(C) Methods the employer will use to coordinate implementation of the plan with other employers, when applicable, to ensure that those employers and employees understand their respective roles, as provided in the plan. These methods shall ensure that all employees are provided the training required by subdivision (e) and that workplace violence incidents involving any employee are reported, investigated, and recorded.

(D) 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.

(E) Effective procedures to ensure that supervisory and nonsupervisory employees comply with the plan in a manner consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(F) Effective procedures to communicate with employees regarding workplace violence matters, including, but not limited to, both of the following:

(i) How an employee can report a violent incident, threat, or other workplace violence concern to the employer or law enforcement without fear of reprisal.

(ii) How employee concerns will be investigated as part of the employer’s responsibility in complying with subparagraph (I), and how employees will be informed of the results of the investigation and any corrective actions to be taken as part of the employer’s responsibility in complying with subparagraph (J).

(G) Effective procedures to respond to actual or potential workplace violence emergencies, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(i) Effective means to alert employees of the presence, location, and nature of workplace violence emergencies.

(ii) Evacuation or sheltering plans that are appropriate and feasible for the worksite.

(iii) How to obtain help from staff assigned to respond to workplace violence emergencies, if any, security personnel, if any, and law enforcement.

(H) Procedures to develop and provide the training required in subdivision (e).

(I) Procedures to identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards, including, but not limited to, scheduled periodic inspections to identify unsafe conditions and work practices and employee reports and concerns. Inspections shall be conducted when the plan is first established, after each workplace violence incident, and whenever the employer is made aware of a new or previously unrecognized hazard.

(J) Procedures to correct workplace violence hazards identified and evaluated in subparagraph (I) in a timely manner consistent with paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 3203 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.

(K) Procedures for postincident response and investigation.

(L) Procedures to review the effectiveness of the plan and revise the plan as needed, including, but not limited to, procedures to obtain the active involvement of employees and authorized employee representatives in reviewing the plan. The plan shall be reviewed at least annually, when a deficiency is observed or becomes apparent, and after a workplace violence incident.

(M) Procedures or other information required by the division and standards board as being necessary and appropriate to protect the health and safety of employees, pursuant to subdivision (h).

(d) (1) (A) The employer shall record information in a violent incident log for every workplace violence incident.

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Thank you for viewing this discussion. Please do pass this blog and blog post and information to other people who would be interested as it is only through collaboration and sharing that great things and success are more quickly achieved. If you are interested in discussing anything that I have said in the discussion above or in either of my two blogs (see blog addresses below), or if you simply want to reach out or are seeking assistance, it is best to reach me by email at dave@tateattorney.com.

David Tate, Esq. (and inactive CPA)

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Remember, every case and situation is different. It is important to obtain and evaluate all of the evidence that is available, and to apply that evidence to the applicable standards and laws. You do need to consult with an attorney and other professionals about your particular situation. This post is not a solicitation for legal or other services inside of or outside of California, and, of course, this post only is a summary of information that changes from time to time, and does not apply to any particular situation or to your specific situation. So . . . you cannot rely on this post for your situation or as legal or other professional advice or representation, or as or for my opinions and views on the subject matter.

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David Tate, Esq. (and inactive California CPA) – practicing only as an attorney in California.