As published by:

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RISKAlert Report #1178                     NOV. 1, 2019                 Sacramento,  California
          

         CALIFORNIA  READY  TO  LAUNCH  NEW  WORKPLACE  VIOLENCE 
           PREVENTION  INDUSTRY  STANDARD WHICH  WILL  APPLY  TO
                                  FOR EVERY EMPLOYER IN THE  STATE 

 

The State of California is responding with workplace violence regulations for every employer in the state.

 

Many new laws and regulations have been passed, that are aimed at preventing workplace violence of all types, including "active shooter" incidents. The most recent set of proposed regulations, which could become final as early as later this year, is holistic and requires a partnership between workers and employers. As a result, it requires significant resources dedicated to training, prevention, emergency response, reporting, and record keeping. These new
California regulations will be a model for similar laws in states across the country as well as under the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) and the General Duty Clause.

The most recent draft includes the following components for workplace violence prevention programs:

1. A written workplace violence prevention plan containing various elements including identifying, evaluating, and investigating hazards; employee communications; and procedures for reporting concerns. The proposed regulations also include requirements like addressing methods that an employer should use to implement the plan in conjunction with other employers on multi-employer worksites, as well as procedures to respond to workplace violence incidents, and emergencies, including active shooter threats.

2.  Further, the plan must be reviewed periodically and after any workplace violence incident that results in an injury.

3. Maintaining a violent incident log, which must describe in detail each and every incident, post-incident response, and workplace violence injury investigation.

4. Implementation of a comprehensive training program and various other record-keeping requirements, and updated termination policies.

 

LESSONS  LEARNED: 

    1.   Employers across the country worry about Workplace Violence. Start now to
          create a plan for your organization, using these new standards as a starting point!

    2.    Show employees you care about their safety and prevent the  fines and lawsuits
            that come from workplace violent and active shooter incidents, which OSHA
            calls "recognized hazards"!

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