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By: @Lilia Hernandez

Cal/OSHA released for public comment the most recent updates/revisions to the draft proposed regulations implementing Senate Bill 553 (Cortese, 2023) pertaining to Workplace Violence Prevention. Special districts can provide public comment before June 1, 2026.

SB 553 was signed into law September 30, 2023, and became effective July 1, 2024. With limited exceptions, the measure requires employers to develop and implement a plan for addressing workplace violence as specified in Labor Code Section 6401.9. CSDA, among other local government agencies, went on record to oppose the legislative mandate for various reasons.

Cal/OSHA has been engaged in an advisory committee “pre-rulemaking” process, which is developing draft regulations for implementing SB 553 prior to proposing the regulations through formal rulemaking. CSDA commented on one of the earlier drafts of the proposed regulation – the May 13, 2025 draft – along with coalition partners California State Association of Counties (CSAC) and the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA). The July 14, 2025 coalition letter can be viewed here.

Public comments on the May 13, 2025 draft were taken into consideration at the Cal/OSHA advisory committee in November 2025, and newly proposed changes became available for public comment in May 2026.

For special districts wishing to comment on the updates to the draft regulation, Cal/OSHA is accepting public comments until June 1, 2026 sent via email to rs@dir.ca.gov.

An overview of significant changes proposed in the 2026 Workplace Violence Prevention Draft Regulation is provided below:

• Adds “employer-provided transportation” to the scope and applicability of the regulation.
• Expands EXCEPTION 6 from the regulation, for non-public places of employment for employers with less than a total of 10 employees at the workplace at all times during the previous year as long as they are in compliance with California Code of Regulations section 3203 (Injury and Illness Prevention Program).
• Amends the definition of an “authorized employee representative” to mean a labor organization with a collective bargaining relationship with an employer and which represents affected employees or an employee organization which has been formally acknowledged by a public agency as an employee organization that represents employees of the public agency.
• Adds a definition of “designated representative” to mean any individual or organization to whom an employee gives written authorization to exercise a right of access. A recognized or certified collective bargaining agent shall be treated automatically as a designated representative for the purpose of access to records required by this section.
• Adds an exception to the definition of “threat of violence” for texts, electronic messages, or personal social media that are not brought to the attention of the employer or that the employer could not otherwise be reasonably be aware of.
• Moves stalking from the “workplace violence” definition to the “workplace violence hazards” definition and removes a reference to the Penal Code.
• Amends a definition under “work practice controls” to include appropriate staffing to oversee and respond to any workplace violence incidents in a timely manner.
• Amends various examples of factors to consider when determining what is a “workplace violence hazard” while condensing or repealing various subsections listed.
• Adds additional context regarding employees or authorized employee representatives reporting specified workplace violence to a supervisor who is not involved or associated with the incident.
• Amends the requirement to have effective procedures to identify and evaluate workplace violence hazards to also include inspections when changes to the place of employment or job responsibilities that create new workplace violence hazards.
• Adds clarity that while an employer may not retaliate against an employee involved in a lawful act of self-defense or defense of others, the employer may implement policies designated to avoid physical confrontation and prevent injuries.
• Adds that initial counseling to an employee or trauma counseling offered through workers’ compensation satisfies the requirement for an employer to offer trauma counseling as a post-incident response. Removes the limitation that it be upon request.
• Removes employer exemptions for involuntary and/or unintentional type 2 repetitive workplace violence, as specified.
• Requires employers to provide answers from a knowledgeable person for employees who receive non-in-person workplace violence prevention training, which must be answered within 1 business day.
• Amends requirements around records and personal identifying information requests, including with respect to confidentiality, in connection with records requests from the Department of Industrial Relations.
• Authorizes employers to redact personal identifying information, except for training records, when responding to records requests from employees or their designated representatives. Expands the scope of records that need to be made available.

In the coming days, CSDA will be evaluating the updates to the draft regulation and considering whether additional comments are necessary. If you have feedback for CSDA on the updates to the draft regulation, please share it with CSDA Director of State Legislative Affairs Aaron Avery at aarona@csda.net. If you choose to provide comment directly to Cal/OSHA, please CC aarona@csda.net on the communication.

Additional information on the regulation and advisory committee meetings can be viewed here: Workplace Violence Prevention in General Industry – Advisory Meetings

Stay tuned to Advocacy News and CSDA eNews for additional information.