EXPLAINER · WVPP
California Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP)
Last reviewed: June 2026 — in force and enforced. Confirm specifics with Cal/OSHA and your counsel.
Senate Bill 553 is codified in California Labor Code Section 6401.9, and the plan can stand alone or be folded into your existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP). It applies regardless of union status.
Who needs a WVPP?
Nearly all California employers, with a few narrow exceptions: worksites with fewer than 10 employees that aren’t open to the public, employees teleworking from a location of their own choosing, healthcare settings already covered by Cal/OSHA’s separate healthcare workplace-violence standard, and certain correctional and law-enforcement facilities. If you’re unsure, assume you’re covered and confirm with counsel.
What the plan must include
The WVPP has to be written, specific to your workplace, and — at minimum — cover:
Who’s responsible for implementing the plan (names or job titles).
Employee involvement — how staff help develop and implement it.
Reporting procedures — how employees report incidents or threats, free from retaliation.
Hazard identification & evaluation — how you find and assess workplace-violence risks.
Hazard correction — how you fix the risks you find.
Emergency response — what happens, and how people are alerted, when violence occurs.
Communication — how concerns are investigated and how employees learn the results and any corrective action.
Training procedures — how and when staff are trained.
Post-incident response & investigation — what you do after an incident.
Annual review — how you check the plan is actually working.
Coordinate in multi-employer settings — share training, incident reporting, and logging where more than one employer operates at the same site.
The violent incident log
Under SB 553, a “log” means the violent incident log — a record you keep of every workplace-violence incident. Each entry records a description of what happened, the consequences, a description of the people involved, and which of the four types of workplace violence it was. It must leave out any personal identifying information. You keep the log for at least five years.
Training
Training is interactive and happens when the plan is first rolled out, at least once a year after that, and whenever a new hazard appears. It must cover your plan, how to report incidents safely, the workplace-violence risks specific to each job, and how to prevent and respond to violence. You keep training records — summary, trainer details, and attendee names and job titles — for at least one year.
Recordkeeping: what to keep, and for how long
Five years — violent incident logs, and records of workplace-violence hazard identification, evaluation, and correction.One year — training records.
The four types of workplace violence
Type 1 — criminal intent. Someone with no legitimate business at the workplace (e.g. a robbery or intruder).Type 2 — customer or client. A customer, client, patient, student, inmate, or visitor the business serves.Type 3 — worker-on-worker. A current or former employee, supervisor, or manager.Type 4 — personal relationship. Someone who doesn’t work there but has a personal relationship with an employee (e.g. domestic violence that follows someone to work).
Do you need a template?
You don’t have to start from scratch. Cal/OSHA publishes a free model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan you can adapt to your workplace — that’s the safest starting point, since it’s written to the regulation. Build from it rather than buying a generic template.
Where Share911 fits
Share911 won’t write your WVPP or run your training — those are yours. But two parts of the plan have to work in real time, and that’s where it helps. The emergency-response and communication procedures depend on alerting everyone, fast, when something happens — Share911 does that in seconds. And its after-action report gives you a timestamped, chronological record of events, actions, and communications that supports your violent incident log. It supports your plan; it doesn’t replace it.
Beyond California
California has one of the broadest general-industry workplace-violence laws, but it isn’t alone. A federal Joint Commission standard now reaches accredited hospitals, and a growing list of states are adding their own requirements. If you operate across state lines, treat California as the leading edge, not the exception.
The penalties
Cal/OSHA enforces SB 553. Serious violations can reach $25,000, and willful violations can reach $158,727. This is a live compliance obligation that is actively enforced — not a future one.
Common questions
What is a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan?
A written plan, required by California’s SB 553, that sets out how an employer prevents, reports, responds to, and records workplace violence. It must be specific to your workplace and reviewed at least annually.
What does SB 553 primarily expand?
It expands Cal/OSHA’s general workplace-safety duties to require almost every California employer to have a dedicated workplace-violence prevention program — not just a general injury and illness prevention plan.
Is my business exempt?
Possibly, if you have fewer than 10 employees and aren’t open to the public, or you’re covered by the separate healthcare standard. The exceptions are narrow — confirm with counsel.
Is there a free WVPP template?
Yes — Cal/OSHA publishes a free model plan you can adapt. It’s the recommended starting point.
Beyond California
California has one of the broadest general-industry workplace-violence laws, but it isn’t alone. A federal Joint Commission standard now reaches accredited hospitals, and a growing list of states are adding their own requirements. If you operate across state lines, treat California as the leading edge, not the exception.