California Senate Bill 553 took effect on July 1, 2024, and it applies to nearly all employers in the state, regardless of size or industry. It was the first general-industry workplace violence prevention mandate in the country.

Who is covered

The law covers almost every California employer. The main exemptions are employers already covered by Cal/OSHA's separate healthcare workplace violence standard, certain law enforcement agencies, and employees teleworking from a location of their own choice.

There is also a small-worksite exemption, and it is narrower than most summaries suggest. It requires three things at once: fewer than 10 employees at the site at any given time, a site not accessible to the public, and a compliant Injury and Illness Prevention Program already in place. Fail any one of the three and the exemption does not apply. A ten-person shop with a walk-in counter is covered.

If you run a store, restaurant, office, warehouse, or job site in California, you are almost certainly covered.

What the law requires

Covered employers must:

  • Maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan. It can be a standalone document or part of the existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) that California already requires.
  • Train employees when the plan is first established and annually after that. Training must cover the plan itself, how to report incidents without fear of retaliation, and the hazards specific to that workplace.
  • Keep a violent incident log. Every incident must be recorded with details about what happened, who was involved, and how it was addressed. Names of involved employees are kept out of the log.
  • Retain records. Training records must be kept for at least one year. Violent incident logs and records of incident investigations must be kept for at least five years.
  • Produce them on request. Hazard identification records, training records, and violent incident logs must be made available to employees and their representatives within 15 calendar days of a request, at no cost. This is the requirement most employers do not know exists until someone asks.

How it is enforced

Cal/OSHA enforces the requirement and can cite employers during inspections, including inspections triggered by an unrelated complaint. There is no requirement that a violent incident occur first; the absence of a compliant plan is itself a violation.

The practical takeaway

Cal/OSHA has published a model plan that employers can adapt. For most small businesses, compliance means a written plan adapted to their site, a short annual training, and a log that may stay empty. The exposure comes from having none of the three when an inspector asks.