©2024 Seyfarth Shaw LLP www.seyfarth.com 2024 Cal-Peculiarities | 371 (2) The violations resulted in worker fatalities, a worksite catastrophe, or a large number of injuries or illnesses. “Catastrophe” means the inpatient hospitalization, regardless of duration, of three or more employees resulting from an injury, illness, or exposure caused by a workplace hazard or condition. (3) The violations resulted in persistently high rates of worker injuries or illnesses. (4) The employer has an extensive history of prior violations of this part. (5) The employer has intentionally disregarded their health and safety responsibilities. (6) The employer’s conduct, taken as a whole, amounts to clear bad faith in the performance of their duties under this part. (7) The employer has committed a large number of violations so as to undermine significantly the effectiveness of any safety and health program that may be in place. 14.19 Workplace Violence Prevention Plan Requirements in 2024 In late 2023, Governor Newsom signed SB 553, which requires nearly all California employers to create, adopt, and implement written Workplace Violence Prevention Plans that include numerous elements, annual workplace violence prevention training, violent incident logs, and the creation and retention of various records.33 Under the new law, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board is required to adopt workplace violence standards codifying SB 553 no later than December 31, 2025. But regulations or not, Cal/OSHA is empowered and directed to start enforcing SB 553 on July 1, 2024. The new requirements apply to nearly all employers and employees in California, except employers previously covered by Cal/OSHA’s Violence Prevention in Health Care standard, employees who telework from a location of their choosing that is outside of employer control, locations not open to the public where fewer than 10 employees work at a given time, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and law enforcement agencies. The law defines “workplace violence” broadly as any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment, including threats involving a firearm or dangerous weapon regardless of whether employee injuries are sustained, threats against an employee that result in or have a high likelihood of resulting in injury, psychological trauma, or stress, regardless of whether actual injuries are sustained. This definition is very broad, meaning a seemingly innocuous comment to some might be considered workplace violence based on the perception of an employee. The model Workplace Prevention Plan published by Cal/OSHA includes all of the required information necessary for compliance. In addition to reporting, employers must also provide employees with initial training when the Plan is first established and conduct annual trainings to cover the Plan, how to report workplace violence hazards and incidents, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to workplace violence, corrective measures implemented by the employer, strategies to avoid physical harm, and information about the violent incident log and how employees can obtain a copy. Employers must retain the log for 5 years and omit personal identifying information. Records of workplace violence incident investigations (which may not include medical information) are also subject to the 5-year retention requirement. Employees are entitled to view and copy the log within 15 calendar days of a request. SB 553 also expands Code of Civil Procedure § 527.8 to authorize collective bargaining representatives, not just employers, to petition for TROs on behalf of employees, allowing even more relief for employees faced with threats and violence. SB 553 also expands upon the actionable conduct necessary to give rise to a TRO and
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