Workplace Violence Prevention Plans (WVPP)

It’s already Spring and Summer is around the corner! Before taking off for Summer vacations,  our business and non-profit clients need to prepare to comply with a significant new law that impacts most California employers. Starting July 1, 2024, SB 553 requires employers to establish “Workplace Violence Prevention Plans (WVPP).”

Cal/OSHA has published a model template for a WVPP similar to what it has developed for Injury and Illness Prevention Plans (IIPP), and related documents on its website.

Employers are not required to use Cal/OSHA’s model plan, but the template provides a helpful guide for employers in developing their own WVPPs, which must contain elements including:

• Names of individuals responsible for implementing the WVPP

• Effective methods for involving employees in plan development and implementation

• Interactive employee training regarding the WVPP

• Emergency response protocols

• Procedures for prompt identification and correction of workplace violence hazards

• Detailed workplace violence incident logs

WVPPs can be a part of an existing IIPP or a standalone policy. Note that remote workers whose worksite is a location that the employer does not control would not be covered by these plans, nor are places of employment where there are less than 10 employees working onsite at any given time and that are not accessible to the public. Additionally, healthcare industry employers are largely covered by different workplace violence prevention requirements.