SB 553: Preventing Workplace Violence was signed into law on September 30, 2023. It has been two years in the making and is a very high profile law that will get a lot of attention. It is a mandatory requirement for all companies in California and must be put into the IIPP or initiated as a standalone document by July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA will be responsible for ensuring that it is in place and that employees have been trained in the contents.
This is prompted by the enormous increase in violence in the workplace. Grocery, Convenience, Retail, Outlet Store attacks are up by 65% to 75% since the pandemic. Internal workplace violence and mass shooting like that at the Valley Transportation Authority and the increase across the US has completely changed our way of life and approach to workplace security.