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Governor Newsom has 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 numerous elements, annual workplace violence prevention training, violent incident logs, and the creation and retention of various records.

On September 20, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill No. 553 (“SB 553”) into law, which requires covered California employers to take steps to prevent and respond to workplace violence. Notably, SB 553 adds Section 6401.9 to the California Labor Code, which, effective July 1, 2024, requires covered employers to adopt a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan that must include, among other things, the following:

The issue of rising crime rates and flash mob robberies has sparked a heated debate in the state of California. Assemblyman James Gallagher, representing District 3, passionately declared, “Enough is enough…we have to make crime illegal again in California.” The statement came as a response to the alarming increase in businesses being targeted by criminals across the state.

Christmas 2021 was only four days away and the evening was getting late at a Ralphs supermarket in Mid-City Los Angeles. Craig Jones, who worked as a cashier, spotted something fishy in the liquor aisle. Two young men — both in their 20s, taller and thicker-set than him — were attempting to stuff bottles of wine and champagne into their pants. Jones, 63, approached them with the offer of help, as was company policy to deter potential shoplifters, he said. But the men turned on him, knocked him to the ground before one of the men attempted to stomp his head.

The state of Texas that has developed a workplace violence prevention standard for healthcare settings. When signed into law, Senate Bill (SB) 240, aimed at reducing acts of workplace violence directed against healthcare providers, will require each health facility to adopt a written workplace violence prevention policy and plan by September 1, 2024.

Workplace safety and health hazards affecting California employees have traditionally been viewed as arising from unsafe work practices, hazardous industrial conditions, or exposures to harmful chemical, biologic or physical agents, not from violent acts committed by other human beings. Recently, though, employees, as well as supervisors and managers, have become all too frequent victims of assaults or other violent acts in the workplace which entail a substantial risk of physical or emotional harm. Many of these assaults result in fatal injury, but an even greater number result in nonfatal injury, or in the threat of injury, which can lead to medical treatment, missed work, lost wages and decreased productivity.

Workplace violence, whether it is defined narrowly to include only violent criminal acts, or broadly to include verbal threats, has long affected retail workers. OSHA developed these recommendations to help late-night retail employers design and implement prevention programs tailored to the workplace violence hazards in their businesses. Existing data, while limited, suggests that late-night retail establishments, such as convenience stores, liquor stores, and gasoline stations, experience relatively high homicide and assault rates.