Cal-OSHA Provides Model Workplace Violence Prevention Program

Cal-OSHA has required almost all California non-healthcare employers to adopt a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (“WVPP”) since July 1, 2024.  Covered employers must establish, implement, and maintain an “effective” plan including:

• Identifying who is responsible for implementing the plan;

• Involving employees and their representatives (i.e., unions);

• Accepting and responding to reports of workplace violence and prohibit employee retaliation;

• Communicating with employees regarding workplace violence matters;

• Responding to actual and potential emergencies;

• Developing and providing effective training;

• Identifying, evaluating, and correcting workplace violence hazards; and

• Performing post incident response and investigations.

Creating a plan requires more than adopting a policy or filling out a few forms: the above factors require employers to invest time assessing the workplace, working with employees, and tailoring their WVPP to each individual location.

Very little guidance was provided for employers, leaving many either confused or reliant on often-expensive outside consultants.

Fortunately, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“DOSH”) has now created a model format employers may use for guidance.  While the model still requires management to assess their workplace individually, and to interact with employees while doing so, it provides a much easier route to creating compliant plans (and ones DOSH is likely to acknowledge as well!).

The Division’s model program can be found on the DOSH website at this link.  Further guidance and discussion can be found here as well. 

Creating a WVPP is not the end of the story, as employers must provide regular training (discussed here) in addition to updating the plan periodically.  Covered employers should monitor the DOSH site, and relevant industry and human resource sources, to stay atop these important new developments.