Most California employers have been required to keep a written workplace violence prevention plan since July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA has to adopt the permanent standard by December 31, 2026. WorldSafe does the site work the plan is built on.
Book a site assessmentSB 553 created Labor Code section 6401.9 and made California the first state to require workplace violence prevention plans across general industry. It has been enforceable since July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA can cite employers who do not comply.
A separate deadline is coming. The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board has to adopt a permanent regulation by December 31, 2026. Cal/OSHA posted a revised draft on April 23, 2026 and closed comments on June 1. Until the Board adopts it, your obligations are the ones in the statute.
Two years on, many plans were written once and filed. The statute asks for more than that.
Review the plan at least once a year, after any incident, and whenever a gap shows up.
The draft Cal/OSHA circulated in April 2026 is still a draft, so it is not yet enforceable. It shows where the rule is heading.
An employer who documented hazards properly under the statute has most of what the regulation will ask for. An employer who wrote a template plan will be starting over.
Counsel writes the plan language. Somebody still has to walk each site and say what the hazards are, which controls exist, and which ones do not work. That is a physical security assessment, and it is the part most plans skip.
A practitioner reviews entrances, reception, parking, lone-worker positions, cash handling, and after-hours access at each location. Hazards get written down with the conditions that create them.
Findings arrive as a written report your plan can cite and your counsel can read: what the hazard is, what control applies, who owns it, and when it was checked.
The annual review and the post-incident review both need someone to look again. WorldSafe schedules them so the dates do not slip.
WorldSafe is not a law firm. The assessment covers physical conditions and security controls. Work with employment counsel on plan language and recordkeeping.
The statute reaches most employees working in California. Four groups sit outside it.
Multi-state employers are caught by the site rule. One California distribution centre inside a national footprint brings that site into scope on its own.
Timing, scope, and what the assessment covers.
Yes. Labor Code section 6401.9, created by SB 553, took effect July 1, 2024. Most California employers must maintain a written, site-specific workplace violence prevention plan, train employees, and keep a violent incident log. The December 31, 2026 date is the deadline for the Standards Board to adopt the permanent regulation, not the deadline to write a plan.
The Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board must adopt a permanent general industry standard by that date. Cal/OSHA posted a revised draft on April 23, 2026, and the comment period closed June 1, 2026. The draft broadens scope, adds definitions, and expands plan, post-incident, recordkeeping, and training requirements. Until it is adopted, compliance is measured against Labor Code section 6401.9.
Most California employers with employees in the state. The statute excludes employers already covered by the health care workplace violence standard, employees teleworking from a location outside the employer’s control, certain law enforcement operations, and worksites with fewer than ten employees that are not accessible to the public.
The statute requires review of the plan at least annually, after any workplace violence incident, and whenever a deficiency becomes apparent. It also requires training when the plan is established and annually after that. A plan written once and left alone does not meet the standard.
The hazard side. The statute requires employers to identify, evaluate, and correct workplace violence hazards, which is a physical security assessment of each site. WorldSafe walks the facility, documents the hazards and the controls, and delivers written findings your plan and your training can be built on.
No. WorldSafe is not a law firm. The assessment documents physical conditions and security controls. Work with employment counsel on plan language, employee relations provisions, and recordkeeping obligations.
One visit per location, written findings, and a schedule for the annual review. Start with a consultation.
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