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Last year, California’s Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 553, which requires all employers to establish, implement, and maintain an effective Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP). The law takes effect on July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA is responsible for enforcing the requirements of SB 553, now codified at California Labor Code Section 6401.9.

House Bill 915 of the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature added a new work-site notice requirement for all Texas employers. The required notice provides information for reporting workplace violence or suspicious activity to the Department of Public Safety (DPS) and includes information about the right to make an anonymous report to DPS. Effective immediately, the notice must be posted in a conspicuous place, in sufficient locations convenient to all employees, and in English and Spanish, as appropriate.

Workplace violence continues to be a concern, as demonstrated by the conclusion of a new study from Trailand, Fear Factors: A 2024 Employee Survey Report on Workplace Violence, Harassment and Mental Health. The survey at found almost 1 in 4 respondents have witnessed workplace violence happening to another employee in the last five years and 12% have been the target of workplace violence themselves.

California has enacted a new workplace violence prevention law, SB 553/California Labor Code Section 6401.9, requiring nearly all California employers to develop and implement a written workplace violence prevention plan, provide annual training on the plan to employees, and maintain a log of incidents of workplace violence. Employers have only until July 1 to develop and implement the plan as well as provide the first round of training.

The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) has announced the expansion of the Workplace Violence Prevention Law (Section 27-b of Labor Law) to elementary and secondary public education facilities is now in effect. These facilities must complete a workplace violence policy statement, a workplace risk evaluation, and a workplace violence prevention program by May 3, 2024.

On July 1, new Labor Code section 6401.9 added by SB 553 will require most California employers to implement a written workplace violence prevention plan, either as a standalone plan or as part of the employer’s required injury and illness prevention program. Employers should start developing their plans early in the new year.

Everyday acts of workplace violence affect more than a million Americans each year. A federal study published last year found an annual average of 1.3 million nonfatal workplace violence incidents between 2015 and 2019. Workplace homicides increased by 11% over that period, although they were down considerably from their peak in 1994.

A new law recently enacted in California requires employers to implement a workplace violence prevention plan and could prove influential if other states follow suit. On Sept. 30, Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 553 into law, requiring nearly all businesses to have their plans in place by July 1, 2024. Exempted from the law are employers already covered under the Workplace Violence Healthcare standard Cal/OSHA 3342, Department of Corrections and law enforcement agencies, and businesses with 10 or fewer employees who do not meet the public.