Question: I have a workplace violence prevention plan, but I have not updated or reviewed it since I created it in 2024. Do I need to review my workplace violence prevention plan each year?
Answer: Yes, employers in California are required to review their workplace violence prevention plan annually, when a deficiency is observed or becomes apparent, or after a workplace violence incident.
Starting in July 2024, all employers are required to create and implement a workplace violence prevention plan. A workplace violence prevention plan is a policy that identifies the potential violence all employees are susceptible to, and potential violence employees are susceptible to because of their specific job. A workplace violence prevention plan outlines basic protocols on how the employer and its employees will prevent and protect employees from experiencing violence in the workplace. It also includes protocols on how employees should report and respond to incidents of workplace violence.
Employers are required to provide annual training and review their workplace violence prevention plan annually, when a deficiency is observed or becomes apparent, and after a workplace violence incident. This encourages employers to amend their workplace violence prevention plan to improve preventative measures or reaction protocols. However, this also means that even if a workplace is free of workplace violence for a year, an employer is still obligated to review their workplace violence prevention plan. This review will give an employer an opportunity to review the types of workplace violence with their employees, which are:
Type 1: Violence committed by a person who has no legitimate business at the worksite, and includes violent acts by anyone who enters the workplace or approaches workers with the intent to commit a crime.
Type 2: Violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or visitors;
Type 3: Violence committed against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager; and
Type 4: Violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there, but has or is known to have had a personal relationship with an employee.
A workplace violence prevention plan is intended to be a living document that is amended when employees experience workplace violence or identify potential workplace violence. A review of a workplace violence prevention plan is a great opportunity to ensure that your workplace violence prevention plan has current and correct contact information and has all the information required by law. Some of the required information includes:
- Names and job titles of the persons responsible in charge of implementing and enforcing the plan;
- Procedures that allow employees’ active involvement in creating, implementing, and amending the plan;
- Procedures on how an employee will report workplace violence and how the employer will respond to an incident of workplace violence;
- Details regarding workplace violence prevention plan training;
- The four types of workplace violence; and
- A policy that prohibits retaliation against employees that report any type of workplace violence.
An annual training and review will give the employer the opportunity to train new employees and retrain all employees on how to report and respond to workplace violence. It also gives employees the opportunity to identify potential workplace violence and collaborate with employers on how to implement protocols to prevent potential or recuring workplace violence.
If an employer is interested in creating, updating, or improving their workplace violence prevention plan, they may contact their local labor and employment attorney.