The 4 Employer Responses to CA's New Workplace Violence Prevention Law

When it comes to employer reactions to California’s new workplace violence prevention law that goes into effect on July 1st, there seems to be four different types of employer responses.

Where do you fit?

I learned about violence, and how it can be prevented through 30 years of conducting civil and criminal litigation investigations into violence incidents. And conducting internal investigations for employers on employment related harassment and violence. And, in order to be effective at my work, I had to learn to keep myself safe, while working in some very dangerous environments.

Employer Reaction #1: What Workplace Violence Prevention Law?

California has not done the greatest job of ensuring that employers know that there’s a new workplace violence law going into effect, so not knowing about the law is somewhat understandable.

However, the law covers the vast majority of employers and employees. If your employees engage with the public, or your place of employment is accessible to the public, you’re covered under the new law. Learn more about the law here. 

If your reaction is your didn’t know. It’s best to get up to speed as quickly as possible. Click here to download my free California workplace violence prevention checklist.  

Employer Reaction #2: Another Mandate? Guess I’ll Slap Something Together.

Mandates don’t win friends easily. And when it comes to running an organization a lot of folks don’t like being told what to do. 

 BUT, here’s the thing…

 Almost 2,000,000 Americans report being the victim of workplace violence each and every year. And like anything else, the reported figures are likely to be significantly below the actual number of incidents. 

 And in many ways with this new law, the state is actually doing employers a solid. 

 Here’s why. An incident of workplace violence increases the turnover and absenteeism rates. It can damage employee morale, and raise your worker’s comp insurance premiums. It can also lead to costly litigation that your insurance may not cover. And it can damage your reputation in the community, which can impact your sales and revenue.

 If resenting the mandate is your reaction, the benefits to you significantly outweigh the hassle of complying. But, slapping something together won’t cut it. The law is very specific in its requirements, including having extensive employee involvement, assessing your employees’ specific safety hazards, and it requires implementation and training.

Read more about the implementation requirements of the new law. 

Employer Reaction #3: We’ve Never Had a Violence Incident. So This Is New. What Do We Focus On?

Employers like to have data. Data helps drive planning decisions. But for an employer whose employees have never experienced workplace violence, there’s no data to work from.

And that can feel a bit like wandering around the forest trying figure out the best path to take out of the forest when you have no breadcrumbs to follow, and can’t see the sun’s position to point you in the right direction.

If you’re experiencing this response, here’s some tips for you to overcome the lack of data. 

Employer Reaction #4: My Employees’ Safety Comes First. So I Want to Do this Right.

Over the years, I’ve worked with many employers who simply get it. That employees who feel that their safety is supported, give their best, day in and day out. They want to work for someone who has their back.

For those of you who have this response. You may already have a violence prevention policy or zero tolerance policy in place. And that’s a great place to start.

Here’s how to move from having just a policy, to creating a prevention plan, and implementing it into the required workplace violence prevention program. 

Can you use some help with getting your workplace violence prevention plan in place. Whether you just want someone experienced in workplace violence prevention to look over the plan you’ve created, or if you need help in conducting safety hazard assessments, implementing the plan, and training employees as required by the new law, send me an email and let’s talk.