Lessons Learned From the First Eight Weeks of SB 553

By Jonathan Reeves
Posted in Blog, Leadership, Lessons Learned, Workplace Violence

Risk Resiliency has been actively supporting clients over the past few months in implementing their SB 553 compliant Workplace Violence (WPV) programs. Through this process, we've identified several key takeaways Risk Resiliency wanted to share with companies navigating the implementation process. First, it is essential to develop a policy that addresses all mandatory components of SB 553. Equally important is gaining a clear understanding of your organization’s implementation process, including a well-defined project timeline. Second, it's also crucial to address key aspects of the program directly; if certain components do not apply to your organization, this must be clearly stated in your policies, program, and procedures. Additionally, consideration should be given to the status of your tenants' and vendors' WPV programs — deciding whether you will manage their programs or integrate them into existing and future contracts is vital. Finally, you must understand what an SB 553 compliance inspection would look like for your organization and conduct an exercise to simulate and prepare for such a visit.

It has been a crazy eight weeks for Risk Resiliency assisting our clients with the implementation of their California Bill SB 553 Workplace Violence Prevention program. Along the way we have learnt many lessons and identified many critical program elements that have the potential to trip up an organization trying to implement the requirements of a Workplace Violence Prevention. We wanted to share these lessons learned in the hope that others may have an easier transition into compliance with this important Bill. Below are our top four key lessons learned that Risk Resiliency has identified so far. There are many more, and I am always happy to share them with you if you drop me an email.

SB 553 Lessons Learned:

1. Company Workplace Violence Policy

Too often we have seen companies with no, or a very limited Workplace Violence Prevention Policy. When implementing a compliant program it’s critical to review the policy to ensure all of the elements of the SB 553 are addressed in the policy, you cannot remain silent on any components. Your policy must stand as the foundation of your WPV Program. We had a few clients that did not have a WPV policy so you must be sure of your company’s process for policy approval as this can take longer than actually implementing the WPV Program.

2. Regional organization

You have offices all over the country and a few offices with more than nine people in California. What to do? Do you maintain two programs, one for CA and a second program for the rest of your locations? There are a few things to consider here; you must do a cost-benefit of managing two programs and the level of effort needed to maintain them. Currently, there are 27 states with similar bills in process, and you may find your business having to modify your program again as more states sign into law similar bills to SB 553. For most of our clients, we recommended implementing the program across all business locations as this limits duplicating process, procedures, and resources needed to manage the program. The requirements are generally good practice when it comes to WPV programs and supports the mitigation and prevention of WPV incidents. So far all of our clients have elected to implement SB 553 across their business units and throughout the states where they operate. However, the focus has been on prioritizing and addressing any outstanding components specifically for their employees in California.

3. Vendors and consultants

What to do about your vendors and contractors? Here again, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis on whether it is easier to incorporate them into your program (consider co-employment laws in your jurisdiction) or modify your contracts to require the vendor to have their program. Either way, you need to include language that ensures you have access to their reporting data. Why does this matter, I hear you ask? Currently, the state of California is not kicking down your door to review and inspect your program. However, if you are unfortunate enough to have a WPV incident at a California site that causes injury or death, you can bet Cal/OSHA will conduct a compliance visit at your site and one of the things they will ask for is your vendor and consultant contracts that demonstrate how you meet SB 553 or how you are integrating them into your program. Either way, doing nothing is inviting potential fines and scrutiny of the business when you have an incident.

4. Site visit

On the topic of site visits this piece of recovery is often overlooked and we have found that our clients do not consider what a regulatory visit would look like for their operations. Risk Resiliency recommends adding a compliance visit as part of an exercise as well as any Management Team training. We have now developed a great checklist for clients to use before, during, and after a compliance visit.

Be sure to check out our other post on California Bill SB 553 and program offerings on Workplace Violence Prevention for more insights and resources to help guide your organization toward compliance.

Questions for Consideration

If you’re an employer, have you started your SB553 implementation?
How has the implementation of your WPV program been going?
What roadblocks are you facing in getting the program off the ground?

At Risk Resiliency, we are always ready to assist you and your team with any expertise or support you may need to tackle these challenges. Preparing now will ensure that your organization is resilient and capable of handling whatever comes next. Stay prepared and stay safe.