For the past year, nearly all California employers have been required to comply with the State’s workplace violence prevention law (Labor Code Section 6401.9), which became effective on July 1, 2024. Section 6401.9 requires, among other things, that employers implement a written workplace violence prevention plan (“WVPP”), train employees on the WVPP and workplace violence hazards, maintain a violent incident log and other workplace violence-related records, and conduct periodic reviews of the WVPP. Section 6401.9 also instructed California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) to propose a general industry workplace violence prevention standard by December 1, 2025 and gave Cal/OSHA’s Standards Board until December 31, 2026 to adopt the standard. On May 13, 2025, Cal/OSHA published an updated draft of its standard and requested additional public comments by July 14, 2025.
1. Background On Cal/OSHA’s Draft Standard
On July 15, 2024, Cal/OSHA published its initial draft standard and requested public comments on the draft by September 3, 2024. The initial draft contained numerous revisions to the language in Section 6401.9. On January 24, 2025, Cal/OSHA held an advisory meeting to consider the changes to Section 6401.9 in the initial draft. In the updated draft published by Cal/OSHA on May 13, 2025, Cal/OSHA revised much of the language added in the initial draft and made further additions, all of which appear to stem from the public comments and advisory committee meeting feedback. Cal/OSHA will hold an advisory committee meeting on the updated draft later this year.
2. Summary Of Key Proposed Revisions
The updated draft standard contains numerous key revisions to the current law, including the following:
• Exemption Clarifications: Section 6401.9 exempts a very limited number of employers and places of employment, including those that are not accessible to the public and have less than 10 employees working at any given time. However, the updated draft standard clarifies that only employers with a total headcount of “less than a total of 10 employees” are exempt. The updated draft further states that this exception does not apply to security services, janitorial services, and domestic workers at those workplaces. In other words, the standard applies to security services, janitorial services, and domestic workers who work in places of employment that are not accessible to the public and where there are less than 10 employees.
• “Threat Of Violence” Definition Clarification: The updated draft standard clarifies under the definition of a “threat of violence” that the employer is not responsible for an “employee’s texts, electronic messages, or personal social media that are not brought to the attention of the employer or that the employer could not otherwise be reasonably be aware of.” The updated draft standard also clarifies that the term “workplace violence” includes the crime of stalking (as defined in California Penal Code 646.9) which occurs at a place of employment, or in connection with a place of employment that is brought to the attention of the employer or that the employer could otherwise be reasonably be aware of.
• “Engineering Controls” Definition Clarification: The initial draft standard identified various engineering controls for employers to implement, such as electronic/mechanical access to employee-only areas, weapons detectors, enclosed workstations with shatter-resistant glass, and furniture affixed to the floor. The updated draft clarifies that the controls listed are not required. Rather, they are examples and should be implemented where applicable.
• “Work Practice Controls” Definition Clarification: The initial draft standard also identified various work practice controls for employers to adopt, such as appropriate staffing levels, dedicated security personnel, and methods and procedures to prevent unauthorized firearms and weapons in the workplace. The updated draft also clarifies that the controls listed are not required and constitute examples for employers to implement where applicable.
• “Workplace Violence Hazards” Definition Addition: The updated draft standard includes a new “workplace violence hazards” definition that lists examples of working conditions that may increase the risk of an incident, such as areas with poor illumination or blocked visibility of surrounding areas, “work locations, areas, or operations that lack effective escape routes,” “frequent or regular contact with the public,” “entries to places of employment where unauthorized access can occur.” The list also includes subjective conditions, such as “hostile work environments,” “required and excessive overtime,” and “inadequate staffing.” This added definition likely will be the subject of many public comments.
• “Authorized Employee Representative” Definition Addition: The updated draft standard includes a new “authorized employee representative” definition, which applies only to this standard and means “an organization that has a collective bargaining relationship with an employer or an organization acknowledged by a public agency as representing its employees.” Presumably, this means an employee’s counsel does not qualify as an “authorized employee representative.”
• Removal Of Language Banning Criminal Confrontations: The initial draft standard contained language prohibiting employers from requiring or encouraging employees (other than dedicated security personnel) to confront persons suspected of committing a criminal act or persons suspected of engaging in workplace violence. The updated draft removed that language entirely and replaced it with language prohibiting employers from retaliating against an employee “involved in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of others.”
• Removal Of Additional Language: The updated draft standard removed certain language that Cal/OSHA added in the initial draft, including (1) a requirement for employers to allow employees to remove themselves from any unsafe condition when necessary and without fear of reprisal, and (2) a requirement that employers must keep a record of corrective measures considered or implemented to address workplace violence hazards.
• Employee Reporting: The updated draft standard includes a provision that requires employers to ensure that employees can report “type 3” workplace violence (i.e., violence by an employee against another employee, supervisor, or manager) to someone who is not the reporting employee’s direct supervisor.
• Record Retention Clarification: The updated draft standard clarifies that all workplace violence-related records required under Section 6401.9 must be kept for five years, except for training records, which must be kept for at least one year.
3. Practical Considerations
It is likely that the updated draft standard will undergo further edits before Cal/OSHA publishes its final standard for the Standards Board to adopt. In the meantime, the current requirements under Section 6401.9 will remain in effect, and employers should ensure they continue to comply with those requirements. Notably, Section 6401.9 currently requires compliance with the following obligations on an annual basis: (1) conduct workplace violence prevention training for employees, and (2) review the effectiveness of the WVPP and revise as needed. Employers who completed an initial workplace violence prevention training in the summer of 2024, but have not done a subsequent training for current employees, should do so as soon as possible. Likewise, employers who have not reviewed their WVPP since rolling it out last summer should ensure they review it again to determine if any changes are necessary. Employers with any questions or concerns about compliance should consult with experienced employment law counsel.
For more information and guidance on developing and implementing a workplace violence prevention plan, please refer to the Employer’s Guide to Workplace Violence Prevention by Sheppard Mullin Attorneys Richard J. Simmons and Robert K. Foster. The publication is now available from Castle Publications.
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About The Author
Robert K. Foster is an Associate with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm’s San Diego (Del Mar) Office. Mr. Foster represents employers in various types of employment litigation, including class action wage and hour claims; PAGA claims; and discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation lawsuits. In addition, he also provides strategic advice to employers on a wide range of employment issues, including wage and hour compliance, employee classification, and OSHA matters. He is a frequent contributor to the California Labor and Employment ALERT Newsletter and several other articles and is the co-author of the Employer’s Guide to Workplace Violence Prevention.
Robert litigates actions involving trade secret claims, unfair competition and enforcement of restrictive covenants and non-competes. He also handles various commercial litigation disputes, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, tortious interference with contract, unfair competition and shareholder derivative claims.
