Description
Effective July 1, all California employers must develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan. In our new 2024 publication, Attorneys Richard J. Simmons and Robert K. Foster of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP provide a practical and useful review of the new Workplace Violence Prevention Rules and the obligations that every employer now faces. By July 1, employers must establish and maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan, maintain a log of incidences of workplace violence, follow specific recordkeeping requirements, and train all employees on workplace violence prevention. The Employer’s Guide to Workplace Violence Prevention examines the requirements of newly enacted SB 553 and includes violence prevention strategies and sample forms and policies. It also covers Cal/OSHA’s Violence Prevention in Health Care standard that applies to certain health care employers.
Among the numerous topics addressed are the following:
- Guidelines For Creating A Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
- Exemptions From SB 553
- CAL-OSHA Rules
- Applicant Screening Techniques
- Rules And Forms For TROs
- Workplace Violence Safety Act
- High-Risk Occupations
- Special Health Care Guidelines
- Disability Discrimination Issues
- Mandatory Changes To IIP Plans
- Violence Prevention Strategies
- Sample Forms And Policies
- Sample IIP Program
- ADA Issues
- Negligent Hiring And Retention
- Confidentiality Concerns
- Statistical Concerns
- Injunctions
- Complaint Procedures
- Duty To Warn
- Prevention Checklist
Table Of Contents
SECTION 1 WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: THE EMPLOYER’S DILEMMA AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1.1 INTRODUCTION
1.2 STATISTICAL INSIGHTS REGARDING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
SECTION 2 EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES AND LIABILITIES FOR WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
2.1 OVERVIEW OF EMPLOYER OBLIGATIONS
2.2 NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION, AND RETENTION STANDARDS
2.3 COMPARISON OF NEGLIGENCE STANDARDS WITH RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR PRINCIPLES
2.4 INJURIES TO EMPLOYEES VS. NON-EMPLOYEES
2.5 TESTING, CONFIDENTIALITY, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
2.6 THE NEED TO UTILIZE EFFECTIVE SCREENING PRACTICES
2.7 CALIFORNIA’S BAN THE BOX LEGISLATION
2.8 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ISSUES
SECTION 3 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAM
3.1 RECOGNIZING THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
3.2 COMMITMENT BY TOP MANAGEMENT
3.3 GENERAL POLICY UPDATES
3.4 THE POSTAL SERVICE APPROACH TO VIOLENCE PREVENTION
3.5 ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE AND PREVENTION
SECTION 4 CALIFORNIA’S NEW WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION LAW
4.1 BACKGROUND ON CALIFORNIA’S GENERAL INDUSTRY WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION LAW
4.2 CAL/OSHA’S GUIDANCE ON COMPLIANCE WITH LABOR CODE SECTION 6401.9
4.3 EMPLOYERS COVERED BY LABOR CODE SECTION 6401.9
4.4 DEFINITION OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE UNDER SECTION 6401.9
4.5 DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A WRITTEN WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN
4.6 PROCEDURES FOR IDENTIFYING, EVALUATING, AND CORRECTING POTENTIAL WORKPLACE VIOLENCE HAZARDS
4.7 PROCEDURES FOR ALLOWING EMPLOYEES TO REPORT WORKPLACE VIOLENCE CONCERNS AND INCIDENTS AND RESPONDING TO THOSE REPORTS
4.8 PROCEDURES FOR EMPLOYERS TO RESPOND TO WORKPLACE VIOLENCE EMERGENCIES
4.9 PROCEDURES FOR REVIEWING THE WVPP’S EFFECTIVENESS
4.10 REQUIRED EMPLOYEE TRAINING
4.11 VIOLENT INCIDENT LOG
4.12 REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING UNDER SECTION 6401.9
4.13 ADDITIONAL RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
SECTION 5 SPECIAL ISSUES FOR HEALTH CARE WORKERS
5.1 OVERVIEW OF SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
5.2 SPECIALIZED RULES FOR LICENSED HOSPITALS
5.3 GUIDELINES FOR SECURITY AND SAFETY OF HEALTH CARE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE WORKERS
5.4 SPECIAL RULES FOR NURSE ASSISTANTS AND HOME HEALTH AIDES
5.5 LABOR CODE STATUTE MANDATING ADOPTION OF REGULATIONS REQUIRING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLANS FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
5.6 COMPARISON OF GENERAL INDUSTRY REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 6401.9 WITH REQUIREMENTS UNDER SECTION 3342 FOR HEALTH CARE FACILITIES EMPLOYERS
SECTION 6 STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS AGAINST HATE CRIMES, STALKING, AND TRESPASSES
6.1 HATE CRIMES
6.2 CALIFORNIA’S ANTI-STALKING STATUTE
6.3 WORKPLACE TRESPASS STATUTE
6.4 CALIFORNIA CORPORATE CRIMINAL LIABILITY ACT
SECTION 7 RESTRAINING ORDERS AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF
7.1 OVERVIEW OF STATUTORY PROHIBITIONS AND PROTECTIONS
7.2 WORKPLACE VIOLENCE SAFETY ACT OF 1994
7.3 TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDERS AND INJUNCTIONS PROHIBITING HARASSMENT
7.4 UPCOMING AMENDMENTS TO THE WORKPLACE VIOLENCE SAFETY ACT
7.5 GUN VIOLENCE RESTRAINING ORDERS
7.6 DETENTION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS
APPENDIX A CAL/OSHA’S INJURY & ILLNESS PREVENTION MODEL PROGRAM FOR WORKPLACE SECURITY
APPENDIX B WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLANS GENERALLY (California Labor Code § 6401.9)
APPENDIX C WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION (NON-HEALTH CARE) FACT SHEET
APPENDIX D SAMPLE POLICIES PROHIBITING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE (FOR EMPLOYERS THAT DO NOT NEED TO COMPLY WITH CALIFORNIA’S WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION LAWS AND REGULATIONS)
APPENDIX E CASE SUMMARIES REGARDING EMPLOYER LIABILITY FOR NEGLIGENT HIRING, SUPERVISION, AND RETENTION, PRINCIPLES OF RESPONDEAT SUPERIOR, AND WORKPLACE VIOLENCE
APPENDIX F VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN HEALTH CARE (8 C.C.R. § 3342)
APPENDIX G WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN HEALTH CARE FACT SHEET
APPENDIX H WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION IN HEALTH CARE FAQ GUIDANCE
APPENDIX I LITIGATION FORMS APPROVED BY THE JUDICIAL COUNCIL OF CALIFORNIA UNDER C.C.P. § 527.8
APPENDIX J CAL/OSHA GUIDELINES FOR WORKPLACE SECURITY
About The Authors

Richard J. Simmons is a Partner in the law firm of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in Los Angeles. He represents employers in various employment law matters involving litigation throughout the country and general advice regarding state and federal wage and hour laws, employment discrimination, wrongful discharge, employee discipline and termination, employee benefits, affirmative action, union representation proceedings, and arbitrations. Mr. Simmons received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, where he was a Commonwealth Scholar and graduated in the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society. He received his J.D. from Berkeley Law at the University of California at Berkeley where he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Industrial Relations Law Journal, now the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law.
Mr. Simmons argued the only case before the California Supreme Court that produced a victory for employers and business in 2018. He was recently recognized as the Labor and Employment Attorney of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Journal and was inducted into the Employment Lawyers Hall of Fame. He has lectured nationally on wage and hour, employment discrimination, wrongful termination, and other employment and labor relations matters. He is a member of the National Advisory Board to the Berkeley Journal of Employment and Labor Law, published by Berkeley Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He was also appointed by the California Industrial Welfare Commission as a member of three Minimum Wage Boards for the State of California.

Robert K. Foster is an attorney with Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP in the firm’s Del Mar office. He 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. Bobby provides strategic advice and counseling to employers on a wide range of federal and state employment issues, including wage and hour compliance, leave and accommodation laws, and antidiscrimination laws. He advises employers on compliance with workplace safety regulations and prepares and reviews written safety policies and procedures. He also assists employers with responding to OSHA and Cal/OSHA investigations and appealing citations.
Bobby is a co-author of the Employer’s Guide to Workplace Violence Prevention and a contributing author to the ALERT Newsletter.
He received his law degree from the University of San Diego, cum laude and his undergraduate from Emory University. During law school, Bobby served as a judicial extern to the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the Honorable Gilbert Nares of the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division One and the Honorable Janis L. Sammartino of the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.