Companies in California will soon have to train employees to respond to acts of violence or threats in the workplace as part of a new law that goes into effect on July 1.

California Senate Bill 553 requires that employers create and maintain workplace prevention plans. That includes keeping a log that records workplace violence incidents, designing employee training, and creating and storing compliance records. The new law applies to all businesses except those with fewer than 10 employees, healthcare facilities, or companies that are either governed by separate laws or made up of remote workers. 

The new law follows an uptick in instances of workplace violence over the last decade. There were more than 20,360 nonfatal workplace assaults and 524 fatalities reported in 2022, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the National Safety Council. That means companies and managers have to think proactively about how to prepare their workers. 

“It’s really important for employers to make sure that employees—like they are with fires, like they are with earthquakes, any type of natural disasters or medical emergencies—that they know what to do,” says Renata Elias, a senior vice president of professional services firm Marsh McLennan’s advisory practice.

Workplace violence falls into four categories: criminal intent, or when someone not related to the company enters its premises and commits a violent act; customer or client violence towards workers; worker-on-worker violence; and personal violence, such as when an employee’s abusive partner stalks or threatens them at work. 

When putting together an anti-violence plan, CHROs in California should first turn to the state’s Division of Occupation Safety and Health’s template for guidance. The employee training must be available in the employees’ first language, simple and easy to understand, administered to all employees annually, and administered for new hires during onboarding. HR leaders can also look for help on putting the plan together from their company’s legal team, operations leaders, risk management team, or environmental health and safety (EHS) team.

While the law only applies to California employers, any company with employees in the state would benefit from aligning this training and compliance across its entire business, Elias says. Most companies currently only have fractions of California’s law in place, like emergency response plans if there’s an active shooter on the premises.

“We always tell organizations, please, please, please be proactive,” she says. “Think about the ‘what ifs’ ahead of time and make sure you’re planned and prepared. Make sure you have a plan for how you’re going to deal with your people, because that’s your most important asset.”

Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion

Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.

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