Does your California business need a workplace violence prevention plan?

Most small employers learned about harassment training the hard way: a deadline, a scramble, a certificate. Workplace violence prevention works the same way, except the requirement has already been in force for more than two years and many businesses still have nothing on file. SB 553 created Labor Code 6401.9, and Cal/OSHA has enforced it since July 1, 2024.

Who has to have a plan?

Nearly every California employer, at every place of employment, including employer-provided housing. The exceptions are narrow:

• Health care settings already covered by the Cal/OSHA health care workplace violence standard.
• Employees teleworking from a location of their choice that the employer does not control.
• A place of employment that is not open to the public, has fewer than 10 employees working there at any given time, and is covered by a compliant injury and illness prevention program.
• Certain law enforcement agencies and corrections facilities.

A restaurant, retail shop, nonprofit office with walk-in clients or salon with three employees is covered, because the public comes through the door. The small-workplace exception only helps a closed office.

What counts as workplace violence?

Any act or threat of violence at a place of employment, including a threat or use of force likely to cause injury, psychological trauma or stress, whether or not anyone is hurt. The law names four types: violence by someone with no business at the site, such as a robbery; violence by customers, clients or visitors; violence by a current or former employee or manager; and violence by someone with a personal relationship to an employee, such as a domestic partner who shows up at work.

What does the written plan need?

The plan must be specific to your hazards and your work areas, not a downloaded template with the name changed. Labor Code 6401.9 requires it to cover:

• Who is responsible for running the plan, by name or job title.
• How employees are involved in building it and in spotting hazards.
• How employees report violence or threats, and a clear rule that they will not be retaliated against for reporting.
• How you respond to an emergency, including alerting staff and getting help.
• How you identify, evaluate and correct hazards, including after an incident.
• How you investigate incidents and review the plan at least once a year.

The plan can stand alone or sit as its own section inside your injury and illness prevention program. Cal/OSHA publishes a model plan, and states plainly that using it does not guarantee compliance.

What records must you keep?

This is where most small employers fall short. Every violent incident goes on a violent incident log, whether or not anyone was injured. Keep the log, hazard identification and correction records, and incident investigation records for 5 years. Keep training records for 1 year. Employees can ask to see the plan and the log, and you have to produce them.

What training is required?

Every employee gets training when the plan first takes effect and again every year, plus additional training when a new hazard appears or the plan changes. The training has to explain the plan, how to report, the hazards specific to the job and how to get help. It must include a chance for questions with someone who knows the plan.

What changes by December 31, 2026?

SB 553 set the minimum. Cal/OSHA’s Standards Board must adopt a detailed general industry standard no later than December 31, 2026, and the April 2026 discussion draft signals where it is headed: named engineering and work practice controls, more detailed records, and a tighter small-workplace exception that looks at headcount across the preceding 365 days instead of on any given day. A business relying on the exception today should confirm it will still qualify.

The practical move does not change: have a real plan now, train on it, and keep the log. An employer with those three in place will adjust to the final standard. An employer with nothing on file will be rebuilding from zero under a deadline.

What if you are an employee?

Ask to see your employer’s plan and the violent incident log. You have the right to review both, and to report a threat or incident without being punished for it. If your employer has neither, a complaint can go to Cal/OSHA.

A compliance checkup confirms whether your plan, training and log meet the law and flags what the 2026 standard is likely to add. California HR laws by headcount shows the other requirements that apply at your size.

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.

Data current as of September 2026. Sources are linked where each figure appears.