Nearly two million non-fatal injuries and approximately 1,000 homicides occur each year due to workplace violence. These incidents can occur in any industry where employees have direct contact with the public, handle money or valuable property, work in vehicles, work in high-crime areas, or work late night/early mornings. They can also occur in health care, social services, or law enforcement work, where an employee provides direct care to a potentially unstable or volatile person.

Effective July 1, 2024, California employers will be required to implement a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan to help reduce the risk of workplace violence.

To comply with this law and better protect your employees, you can improve physical security measures, implement administrative procedures, and train all employees on your prevention and response plans.

Improve physical security

Making improvements to the tools you use for your security measures can help reduce workplace violence. You will want to review the equipment you use and then identify where improvements are necessary. Some examples may include:

  1. Install or upgrade locks, alarms, mirrors, peepholes, or security cameras to the interior and/or exterior of the workplace or in higher risk areas.
  2. Secure access to the workplace by controlling entry into the building or specific areas by using door buzzers, key cards, key pads, biometric authentication, or security personnel. Some workplaces may benefit from weapons detection solutions or metal detectors.
  3. Use panic buttons that alert other employees, security personnel, or link directly to a security company or emergency services in case of threats or violent incidents.
  4. Maintain adequate lighting both inside and outside the workplace, especially around exits, in parking lots, stairwells, and isolated areas.
  5. Use physical barriers such as deep or high counters, partitions, or service windows to help separate employees from the public.
  6. Keep workstations that are accessible to the public clear of items that could be used as weapons such as staplers, paperweights, or any heavy objects.
  7. Establish a safe room or identify safe areas within the workplace to shelter-in-place.
  8. Install and use drop safes to limit the availability of cash and post signs that state that employees have limited access to cash.
  9. Integrate violence prevention activities into daily procedures. Be sure to check locks, lighting, and security cameras regularly to ensure they are working properly.

Implement administrative procedures

In addition to physical security, an effective workplace violence prevention policy identifies all possible means of workplace violence and implement appropriate prevention and response planning.

  1. Involve both management and frontline employees in the development of workplace violence prevention plans and procedures by having them identify the types of risks and challenges they face in their daily activities, and collaborate on mitigation and responses options.
  2. Establish a zero-tolerance policy toward workplace violence that covers all employees. This should cover visitors, patients, clients, contractors, and anyone else who may come in contact with workers.
  3. Assign responsibility for the program to individuals or teams that have the proper training and skills.
  4. Ensure adequate staffing and resources are available to support the plan.
  5. Organize a trained response team to respond to emergencies.
  6. Conduct reference checks and/or background checks for all potential hires, as allowed by your industry and jurisdiction.
  7. Regularly review and update access privileges as employees join or leave the workplace.
  8. Encourage workers to promptly report all threats without fear of reprisal.
  9. Consistently follow up on all incidents and address employees’ safety concerns in a timely manner.
  10. Develop policies and procedures for assisting employees after a threatening or violent incident. Examples include how to obtain medical care, counseling, file a claim, or legal assistance.
  11. Regularly review and update your workplace violence prevention plan with managers and employees.

Regularly train and practice

Training is a vital component of all safety programs. It’s especially important to help prevent and respond to workplace violence.

  1. Provide training on your workplace violence prevention plan, response procedures, and reporting procedures to employees at all levels upon hire and at least annually thereafter.
  2. During training, provide an overview of the workplace violence prevention plan including identified hazards and control measures, how to identify and report warning signs or escalating behavior, and ways to prevent or diffuse volatile situations. Also, include the location and use of safety devices such as alarm systems, panic buttons, response procedures, and reporting requirements.
  3. Make sure all safety devices are working correctly. Regularly test buzzers, alarms, radios, and panic buttons.
  4. Hold exercises and drills so employees can practice their skills and demonstrate competency. Take special care to ensure that the training focuses on skills and response and does not trigger anxiety or fear.

Make any necessary updates to plans or procedures after each training drill or exercise.

The fear of workplace violence can take a toll on employees, employers, and a business’s reputation. Employers may not be able to completely eliminate workplace violence, but employees may feel safer knowing there’s an established plan to respond to threats and violence.

Reduce the risk of workplace violence and improve response to threats or violent incidents by enhancing physical security measures, implementing administrative procedures, and training all employees as outlined in your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.