California SB 553 · Labor Code 6401.9
Your California workplace violence prevention plan, written for you.
The law wants a written plan, an incident log and training for your people. I write all three around how your company really runs, you read it, and your attorney signs off.
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN
Company: [INSERT COMPANY NAME]
Responsible person: [NAME]
Work areas: [LIST]
Emergency contact: [PHONE]
I'll fill this in Friday.
(It was a Friday in July.)
You didn't wake up wanting to learn Labor Code 6401.9.
You downloaded the Cal/OSHA model plan, opened it, and closed it again, because nobody could tell you which parts apply to a company like yours. That is a fair reaction, and the law does not grade on fair.
So you are shopping for a person to handle it, which is the right call. A written plan, a violent incident log, training and a yearly review all have to exist, and they have to be specific to your work areas, so a form with blanks only gets you part of the way.
The do it yourself route
It costs a Saturday, and the Saturday is not on any invoice.
Cheap on paper, expensive in the part of your week you were saving for something else.
YOUR SATURDAY
Order: one WVPP, do it yourself
No refunds on Saturdays
What you get
What lands in your inbox.
Finished documents with your names in it, written to match the way your people actually work.
The written plan
All 13 elements the statute lists, written for your work areas, with a named person for each job. It reads like your company, and page one has your name on it.
The violent incident log
Set up with the fields the law asks for, so the first entry is a fill in and not a scramble. It also tells you what stays out, because names and other identifying details do not belong in it.
The training guide
A facilitator guide one of your own managers can run, with the interactive question and answer the law requires built into the agenda, plus the reading you send out ahead of the session.
The yearly review
The plan names who reviews it and when, because the law wants it looked at once a year, after an incident, and any time a gap shows up.
A copy your attorney can mark up
HR prepares and your attorney reviews. I send it in a form that makes that easy, then I fix whatever they flag.
How it works
You answer questions, I do the writing.
Tell me about your workplace
A short call and a questionnaire about your work areas, who is on site, who the public is, and who you would trust with the plan.
I write it
The plan, the log and the training guide, built from your answers and checked against the statute line by line.
You and your attorney review
You read it, your attorney marks it up, and I fix what they flag.
You roll it out
Your people get the training, the log goes live, and the yearly review lands on the calendar before you forget it.
A good fit
California employers with a team and no time.
Companies of roughly 12 to 350 people, with an office, a front desk, a few customer sites, or a mix of those, and nobody on staff whose job is workplace safety. If that sounds like your Tuesday, we should talk.
Probably not
If you are exempt, I will say so.
Health care operations covered by Title 8 section 3342, and a place with fewer than 10 people at a time that the public cannot walk into, can sit outside this law. I will tell you on the call, even though it costs me the job. A plant floor that needs a safety engineer walking it with you is a different kind of project too.
A template gives you blanks. I give you a plan.
| A template | Working with me | |
|---|---|---|
| Who fills in the 13 elements | You do | I do, from your answers |
| What you hold at the end | A document with blanks | A finished plan with your names in it |
| The training question and answer | Yours to figure out | Built into the guide |
| Who checks it is right | You hope | HR prepares, your attorney reviews |
| The yearly review | Whoever remembers | Named in the plan, with a date |
What it costs
One number, in writing, before I start.
A flat fee, quoted after our call, with no hourly meter and no auto renewal. There is no price on this page because it depends on what your workplace looks like, and I would rather quote you than guess.
Questions people ask first.
Can a template satisfy SB 553?
A template is a fine first draft. The law wants the plan to be specific to the hazards in each of your work areas, so somebody has to do the filling in, and that somebody is me.
Are we exempt from the California workplace violence prevention plan?
The exemptions are health care operations covered by Title 8 section 3342, certain corrections and law enforcement facilities, employees who telework from a place they chose, and a place with fewer than 10 people at a time that the public cannot access. Cal/OSHA can still order an exempt employer to comply, so I check yours before anyone writes a word.
Does our harassment prevention training count?
It covers a different subject. Training under Labor Code 6401.9 has its own list of topics, including how to report violence, the hazards in your jobs, and a live question and answer with someone who knows your plan.
Can the plan live inside our IIPP?
Yes, the statute allows the plan to be a stand alone section of your Injury and Illness Prevention Program or a separate document. We pick whichever one matches how your safety paperwork is already organized.
Do you replace my attorney?
No, HR prepares and your attorney reviews. I am PHR Certified and not a lawyer, so for the final call on your plan, ask yours.
Will you run the training session?
I write the facilitator guide and the reading you send ahead, and one of your own managers runs the session.
How long does it take?
I give you the date in writing along with the fee.
Tell me about your workplace.
I will tell you whether you are covered, what the plan needs to say, and what it costs. I reply to new inquiries within about one business day.
HR prepares, your attorney reviews. This page is general information and not legal advice. Bill Brown is PHR Certified and is not a lawyer.