Workplace Violence Prevention & SB 553

What Is Workplace Violence Consulting?

Expert help building a documented program to prevent, report, and respond to violence at work

A Program, Not a Poster

Workplace violence consulting is the process of building a real, working prevention program: a written plan that assigns responsibility, procedures employees actually know how to use, training that changes behavior, and response protocols that hold up under stress. Workplace violence includes far more than the headline events; it covers threats, intimidation, harassment that escalates, violence from customers or patients, domestic situations that follow an employee to work, and incidents involving current or former employees.

Most organizations have some fragment of a program: an HR policy paragraph, a poster by the break room, an emergency number nobody has tested. A consulting engagement connects those fragments into a coherent system. We assess where violence risk actually concentrates in your operations, write or update the prevention plan, build the reporting and response procedures around it, and train your workforce so the plan works on a bad day, not just on paper.

For California employers this is now a statutory requirement under Senate Bill 553, and for employers everywhere it is part of the general duty to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards. Wherever you operate, the goal is the same: catch concerning behavior early, respond appropriately, and document everything.

Explore the Program Components

Employees in a safe, monitored workplace environment

What Does a Prevention Program Include?

Six connected components, from written plan to tested response procedures

Prevention Plan Development

A written workplace violence prevention plan tailored to your operations: designated program owners, hazard identification and correction procedures, incident definitions, and documentation practices that satisfy regulators and insurers.

Workplace Violence Risk Assessment

An on-site evaluation of where violence risk concentrates in your business: public-facing roles, cash handling, late-night or lone work, facility access weaknesses, and prior incident history, with findings ranked for action.

Prevention Training for Employees

Training on recognizing warning signs, de-escalating tense interactions, reporting concerns, and responding safely during an incident, delivered through our security awareness training programs.

SB 553 Compliance Support

Gap analysis of your current program against California SB 553 requirements, plan drafting or remediation, violent incident log setup, and the employee training the statute requires.

Threat Reporting & Response Procedures

Clear reporting channels that prohibit retaliation, defined escalation paths, guidance on assessing reported concerns, and response protocols that specify who acts, who communicates, and who documents.

Active Shooter Preparedness Planning

Policy-level and training-level preparation for the worst-case event: emergency action plan review, lockdown and evacuation planning for your actual facility, notification procedures, and discussion-based exercises.

What Does California SB 553 Require?

A written plan, employee training, and a violent incident log for most California employers

California Senate Bill 553 requires most California employers to establish, implement, and maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan, provide employees with training on that plan, and maintain a log of qualifying violent incidents. The requirements took effect on July 1, 2024. In practical terms, a compliant program needs to address:

A written prevention plan: naming the people responsible for the program and describing how employees are involved in developing and implementing it
Hazard identification and correction: procedures for identifying workplace violence hazards and correcting them in a timely manner
Reporting without retaliation: defined channels employees can use to report violence or threats, with an explicit prohibition on retaliation
Incident response and post-incident procedures: what happens during and immediately after an incident, including investigation and correction
Employee training: initial and ongoing training on the plan, the hazards specific to the workplace, and how to report and respond
A violent incident log: a record of qualifying incidents capturing the details the statute specifies, maintained and retained as required

Some workplaces are exempt from SB 553, so it is worth confirming how the law applies to your specific operations. For employers outside California, the OSHA general duty clause still requires a workplace free from recognized hazards, and a documented prevention program is the accepted way to meet that duty where violence is a foreseeable risk. We help employers in any state build a program to this standard, because it is simply a good standard. If you need to know where your current program stands, contact us for a gap assessment.

How Should You Prepare for an Active Shooter Event?

Preparedness consulting at the policy, planning, and training level

Active shooter preparedness starts long before an event, with a plan your employees have actually seen and a facility you have actually evaluated. Our active shooter preparedness consulting works at the policy, planning, and training level: we help you build the decisions, documents, and drills that determine how well people respond, and we leave tactical response to the professionals whose job it is. A sound preparedness effort covers:

Emergency action plan review: ensuring your written plan addresses violent intruder scenarios, assigns roles, and integrates with your broader workplace violence prevention plan
Facility-specific planning: walking your actual site to evaluate lockdown options, evacuation routes, assembly areas, and rooms that can and cannot be secured
Notification and communication procedures: how an alert goes out, who calls 911, how employees and visitors are warned, and how you account for people afterward
Coordination with law enforcement guidance: aligning your plan with the publicly available guidance of agencies such as DHS and the FBI, and encouraging engagement with your local police department
Employee awareness training: teaching the widely adopted run, hide, fight framework at the awareness level, so employees understand their options and the plan that supports them
Discussion-based exercises: tabletop walkthroughs with leadership and staff that surface gaps in the plan before a real event can

This planning work pairs naturally with the broader employee education delivered through our security awareness training programs, which cover the recognition, de-escalation, and reporting skills that make the worst-case event less likely in the first place.

How Does a Consulting Engagement Work?

From risk assessment to a trained workforce in three phases

1

Assess

We evaluate your workplace violence risk on-site and review your existing policies, reporting channels, incident history, and training records against regulatory requirements and recognized good practice.

2

Build

We draft or remediate your written prevention plan, set up the violent incident log and reporting procedures, and develop response protocols and active shooter planning documents specific to your facility.

3

Train & Maintain

We train employees and supervisors on the plan, run discussion-based exercises to pressure-test it, and establish the review cycle that keeps the program current as your workforce and facilities change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about workplace violence prevention and SB 553

What is a workplace violence prevention plan?

A workplace violence prevention plan is a written program that defines how an organization identifies, reports, responds to, and recovers from violence and threats in the workplace. It typically assigns responsibility for the program, describes hazard identification and correction procedures, establishes reporting channels that prohibit retaliation, sets out incident response and post-incident steps, and defines the training employees receive.

What does California SB 553 require employers to do?

California SB 553 requires most California employers to establish, implement, and maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan, train employees on that plan, and record qualifying incidents in a violent incident log. The requirements took effect on July 1, 2024. Some workplaces are exempt, so employers should confirm how the law applies to their specific operations.

What does workplace violence prevention training cover?

Effective workplace violence prevention training teaches employees to recognize warning signs and concerning behaviors, de-escalate tense interactions, report threats through defined channels without fear of retaliation, respond safely during an incident, and understand their role in the organization's written prevention plan. Training should be tailored to the hazards of the specific workplace and repeated on a regular cycle.

What is active shooter preparedness consulting?

Active shooter preparedness consulting helps an organization plan for the worst-case violent event at the policy, planning, and training level. It typically includes reviewing emergency action plans, evaluating lockdown and evacuation options in the actual facility, defining communication and notification procedures, coordinating expectations with local law enforcement guidance, and preparing employees through awareness training and discussion-based exercises.

Do employers outside California need a workplace violence prevention plan?

Yes, in practice. Even where no state statute mandates a written plan, the OSHA general duty clause requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm, and workplace violence is a recognized hazard in many industries. A documented prevention plan, training, and reporting procedures are the accepted way to address that duty, and other jurisdictions are moving in California's direction.

Workplace Violence Prevention Consulting