Do You Have a Workplace Violence-Prevention Plan? You Need One. Soon.

According to The Violence Prevention Project, mass public shootings — defined as the killing of four or more people in a public setting — most commonly occur at places of work and commerce.

Mass shootings at two Half Moon Bay mushroom farms in January 2023 were perpetrated by a former farm employee who murdered seven people in the attack. The third mass killing in California in just more than a week, the event was the final catalyst for a new state law concerning workplace violence, SB 553, that will go into effect this July.

The law defines workplace violence as:

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

· 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.

On July 1, nearly every California employer will be required to implement a comprehensive workplace-violence-prevention plan with very specific requirements. There will be no grace period, so if you haven’t started working on this, let’s get busy.

Here are the immediate steps you need to take:

• Talk to your employees about safety and their concerns.

• Put together a committee.

• Write a responsible policy.

• Put an action plan in place, and train employees.

• Practice, practice, practice.

The fine attorneys of Ogletree Deakins prepared a good Q&A, as well as a three-part podcast series and template documents, to help employers meet the new requirements of SB 553.

Proud HR is well-versed in developing these plans to ensure you comply with the law and do everything in your power to maintain a safe workplace.

For help on creating, implementing, and maintaining your workplace plan and training, contact me.