CA SB-553
Background:
California Senate Bill No. 553 (“SB 553”), mandates that nearly all employers in the state develop and implement a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan. SB 553’s requirements are comprehensive and present significant compliance challenges for businesses operating wholly or partially in California.
Although the July 1 compliance deadline has already passed, many companies either have not yet complied or have only partially complied. CA OSHA has been tasked with conducting inspections and issuing citations to enforce the law.
We will assist in the expedited development and implementation of a SB 553 compliant plan and customized training to achieve full compliance and mitigate the risk of OSHA findings and potential legal liability.
Our team, which includes attorneys, threat management experts, and a former litigator is uniquely qualified to address this legal requirement. To date, we have helped multiple clients develop and implement compliant Plans and training, and therefore understand the various organizational challenges in doing so in a meaningful way. For instance;
- How to incorporate existing site-specific Safety plans, processes and training.
- Delivering training that meets the law’s requirement of being “interactive” and “role specific”
- Identifying appropriate functional leaders for required SB 553 Plan roles.
- Restraining Orders: From January 1, 2025, CA employers can seek restraining orders for employees facing harassment, expanding the scope beyond the previous requirement for credible threats of violence.
- Incident Tracking: Employers must effectively track and address incidents of Workplace violence in a standard but comprehensive manner across all of their affiliates.
Key Aspects of SB-553
- Inclusion of a Broad Definition of Workplace Violence: Includes psychological trauma or stress related to threats of violence, even without physical injury.
- Mandatory Written Plan Requirement: Employers must create a written plan, meeting the law’s specifications. covering development, implementation, execution, and monitoring Workplace Violence.
- Training Requirements: Employers must provide initial and annual interactive training to employees.
Our Approach: Given the July 1 compliance deadline has already passed, we will assist in the expedited development and implementation of a SB 553 compliant plan. This may be accomplished through an initial review of your current program to identify gaps for compliance. We will then provide a roadmap for development of a tailored plan and customized training to achieve compliance and mitigate the risk of OSHA findings and potential legal liability.
Our firm is uniquely qualified to thereafter assist with the development and implementation of a customized and holistic Workplace Violence Prevention and Response Program that both meets the new legal requirements and is demonstratively effective in mitigating the risk and impact of workplace violence incidents.
The VanSlyke O’Neill method is based on our extensive experience in the successful development and implementation of these programs for dozens of companies and industries throughout the U.S. and globally, our vast litigation experience, and our significant contributions to the guidelines contained in the Workplace Violence and Active Assailant – Prevention, Intervention and Response Standard (ANSI/ASIS 2020). Our proactive approach is designed to prioritize prevention through recognition of concerning behaviors and intervention at the earliest possible stages, implemented, and reinforced through engaging and interactive training customized for the various stakeholders in your organization.
The materials on this website are provided for informational purposes only and do not contain legal advice, legal opinions, or any other form of advice regarding any specific facts or circumstances. The transmission or receipt of information contained on this site does not form or constitute an attorney-client relationship with this law firm or any of its attorneys or employees. In some jurisdictions, portions of this web site may be considered to be attorney advertising. The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon an advertisement. This law firm’s prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Copyright © 2024 VanSlyke O'Neill - All Rights Reserved.
We need your consent to load the translations
We use a third-party service to translate the website content that may collect data about your activity. Please review the details in the privacy policy and accept the service to view the translations.