California leads the nation in efforts to prevent workplace violence.

In a historic move, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 553 creating the first general industry workplace violence prevention safety requirements in the United States. This groundbreaking legislation mandates a comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) for nearly all employers in California. The required WVPP can be built into an existing injury and illness prevention plan (IIPP). Employers are required to create or adopt, implement and train employees on the WVPP.

Effective July 1, 2024, this law is likely to be a landmark legislative move, as it is the first law of its kind nationwide to be applicable across various industries. Further, there is speculation it will be used as a template for similar laws across the country in coming years. The law incorporates many aspects beginning with developing the plan in cooperation with employees and others, regular training on workplace violence hazards, procedures for each element of the prevention plan, maintaining a detailed violent incident log, and conducting regular reviews of the WVPP. The enforcement of these requirements fall under the jurisdiction of California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA).

What is “workplace violence”?

Labor Code Section 6401.9 defines workplace violence as “any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment,” but does not include lawful acts of self-defense or defense of others.

Workplace violence specifically includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Type 1 violence: workplace violence committed by a person who has no legitimate business at the worksite and includes violent acts by anyone who enters the workplace or approaches employees with the intent to commit a crime.
2. Type 2 violence: workplace violence directed at employees by customers, clients, patients, students, inmates, or visitors.
3. Type 3 violence: workplace violence against an employee by a present or former employee, supervisor, or manager.
4. Type 4 violence: workplace violence committed in the workplace by a person who does not work there but has or is known to have had a personal relationship with an employee.

What are the Essential Elements of a WVPP?

• Responsible Personnel: Designate individuals responsible for the WVPP, recommending more than one person for this role. 
• Employee Input and Enforcement: Develop procedures for obtaining input from employees on the plan and its enforcement. 
• Training Procedures: Establish comprehensive training procedures covering all aspects of the WVPP. 
• Incident Reporting: Create procedures for reporting both potential and actual workplace violence incidents. 
• Incident Investigation: Implement procedures for investigating potential workplace violence incidents and issues. 
• Plan Implementation: Set procedures for the plan’s implementation, including periodic inspections, annual reviews, and ensuring comprehensive training for all employees. 
• Anti-Retaliation Clause: Incorporate an anti-retaliation clause to protect employees who report workplace violence. 
• Role Coordination: Develop procedures for coordinating roles between supervisors and management. 
• Interdepartmental Communication: Establish communication procedures between departments or shifts, as necessary for specific job positions. 
• Training Development: Focus on developing effective training procedures. 
• Risk Identification: Identify environmental and other risk factors, including considerations for contingent workers, temporary staff, and remote employees. 
• Risk Evaluation and Control Development: Create procedures for evaluating specific work-related risks (e.g., customer interactions, security roles) and developing appropriate controls, including engineering, administrative, and personal protective equipment. 
• Recordkeeping: Implement procedures for maintaining records, including workplace violence incident logs. 
• Post-Incident Response and Investigation: Establish emergency response procedures and investigation protocols for incidents that occur. 

Employers are required to train employees on the WVPP when the program is first established, and then every year thereafter. The employee training required under the new law must cover particular subjects, allow for “interactive questions and answers,” and be in “vocabulary appropriate to the educational level, literacy, and language of the employees.” Further, as part of the training, employers also must provide employees with an opportunity for interactive questions and answers with a person knowledgeable about the WVPP. Additional training must take place when a new or previously unrecognized workplace violence hazard has been identified and when changes are made to the WVPP for clarity, this training may be limited to addressing the new hazard or change. 

Training requirements

• The employer’s plan, how to obtain a copy, and how to participate in development and implementation of the WVPP.
• The definition of workplace violence and requirements of Labor Code Section 6401.9.
• How to report workplace violence incidents to the employer or law enforcement.
• Workplace violence hazards specific to the employer’s industry, corrective measures the employer has implemented, and strategies on how to prevent or respond to violence.
• The violence log required by the Labor Code and how to obtain a copy.
• An opportunity for interactive questions with a person knowledgeable about the plan.

What are employer responsibilities? Employers are required to take reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment. This includes having a comprehensive Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP). Key steps to demonstrating reasonable care include: Having a broadly disseminated policy. Establishing an effective complaint process. Providing regular training to ensure employees and supervisors and managers. Understand their rights and responsibilities. Monitoring the workplace to ensure adherence to the employer’s policy.

To help California employers meet this new regulation, and other employers throughout the country, NSC has updated its Workplace Violence Training Program to include the following:

• Impact of Workplace Violence
• Types of Workplace Violence
• OSHA and State Requirements for Workplace Violence (*NEW)
• Developing a Written Workplace Violence Plan (*NEW)
• Risk Factors for Workplace Violence
• Warning Signs of Workplace Violence
• Preventing/Reducing Workplace Violence
• Response Actions
• Training Employees on Workplace Violence (*NEW)

OSHA’s general duty clause states, “Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees; shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act. Furthermore, each employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his own actions and conduct.” With this in mind, keeping up with all OSHA standards, rules, regulations, and orders can be a daunting task for both employers and employees. Two helpful resources to ensure workplaces are informed and in compliance are our OSHA 29 Regulation books.

Our published OSHA 29 CFR 1910 General Industry Regulations  and CFR 1926 Construction Regulations books provide quick and easy access to critical safety guidance at all times. Clearly, this important reference will help employers and employees both quickly identify potential safety concerns and hazards on any job. In order to best serve the needs of everyone, we provide the updated books in two types of binding and in electronic formats. With accessibility in mind, perfect bound book includes 2-color tab end of the book displaying both regulation title and number. Additionally, our premium version of the book is ideal for those that take notes and highlight on their regulations. It’s bound in a loose-leaf, 3-ring, 2″ binder with tabs and it allows for easy navigation to the regulations you use most. These updated books contain all changes to the standards through January 1, 2023.

Features of 29 CFR 1910 and 1926 Industry Regulation Books: 

• Record of recent edits and changes
• Most frequently cited standards
• Additional relevant parts of Title 29 
• OSHA General Duty Clause
• Two-color layout makes navigating and reading regulations easier
• Includes all 1910 regulations
• 1903 regulations covering inspections, citations and penalties,
• 1904 regulations covering record keeping and reporting occupational injuries and illness
• Easy-to-find regulations changes for the period between book releases
• Easy-to-find OSHA interpretations icon shows which page and which regulations have interpretations to reference
• Contains OSHA Form 300 and OSHA’s Cancer Policy
• Most Frequently Cited Standards preceding relevant Subparts

Workplace compliance is challenging. For this reason, National Safety Compliance is working hard to help employers and employees meet this requirement and stay safe at work. Staying on top of compliance begins with being aware of all the safety standards that apply to your workplace. Which is why NSC has compiled our 1910 and 1926 regulation books. Given that there is so much information to keep track of, having OSHA regulations accessible and aesthetically pleasing benefits everyone.

Fall has been a busy season for lawmakers and with that comes many changes to labor law posting requirements. It is essential for businesses to stay up to date on those changes. It can be challenging to continuously monitor the various government agencies that regulate labor laws. On top of the federal requirements, each state has its own mandated posters. Additionally, many businesses have locations in more than one state which creates additional challenges to keeping up with the latest laws and the implications of those laws.

As fall is quickly winding down and the new year seems just over the horizon, here at NSC, we are closely monitoring labor laws and posting updates that are on the way for 2023. While many states update the minimum wage requirement on January 1, those aren’t the only changes to come next year. As a matter of fact, some states will need to increase the expected minimum wage because of inflation. A few states have either new Paid Medical/Family Leave postings coming or an update to an existing Paid Leave poster.

States with labor law posting updates for 2023:

• Alaska
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Ohio
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Vermont
• Washington

At National Safety Compliance we do the monitoring of labor law posting requirements for you so you can spend time doing other important things for your business. Make sure you are ready for the new year by pre-ordering 2023 posters today. The best choice is to choose our new subscription option. The subscription renews yearly, offering an easy solution to compliance with labor law. You’ll automatically receive a new, yearly set of posters, hassle-free. If there are any major, mandatory changes to the posters throughout that year, we will provide you complimentary updated copies with your subscription service.

As stated previously, this year there are a number of states that are expected to have a minimum wage increase that is larger than scheduled due to inflation. This is likely to require an update to some posters that were not anticipated to be updated this year. We are closely watching those developments. Along with minimum wage and paid family leave, in some states it is feasible to see changes to their whistleblower protections, personal protective equipment, child labor laws, pay equity, and discrimination notices.

States that are likely to have an update in 2023:

• California
• Federal Contractor
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Missouri
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• Rhode Island

We work diligently to keep our Labor Law Posters updated with the most current federal and state-required postings.  You can see the most recent changes here to make sure your posters are up to date.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is impacting every industry and business across the world. As a result, many workplaces are being forced to change policies and searching for the best methods to keep their business running smoothly during COVID-19 outbreaks. National Safety Compliance has formatted the Occupational Safety and Health Associations recommendations into a handy booklet titled OSHA: Preparing Workplaces For COVID-19 for easy use by business owners and trainers.

Some businesses are affected by the interruption of supplies and deliveries from other geographic areas, while others are experiencing absenteeism as many workers are home sick, caring for loved ones, or unable to work due to being at-risk or fearful of potential exposure. Most are seeing a change in patterns of commerce as consumer interest increases in items used for infection prevention and shopping habits change to reduce person-to-person contact. 

While it is not possible to entirely stop these consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, employers can reduce the effect it has on their business, workers, customers, and the public by planning and preparing for traditional infection prevention and industrial hygiene practices. They can do so by implementing engineering, administration, personal protective equipment (PPE), and work practice controls. Giving employees COVID-19 safety training and implementing COVID safe work practices can significantly reduce the impact and spread of COVID in your workplace.

These methods may change as new information becomes available. COVID-19 outbreak conditions change and evolve, making it vital that employers keep up with new information on the transmission and impacts of the virus. They should consistently be mindful of potential risks in the workplace and any new control measures to enforce.

Employers should continually remind themselves and others to stay home from work if symptoms of COVID-19 appear. These symptoms include cough, fever, and shortness of breath and they will appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure. Employers cannot rely on symptoms alone, as many people are asymptomatic, meaning they experience no symptoms at all.

People are most contagious when their symptoms are at their worst, but it is possible for the virus to spread before any symptoms show. It is thought to spread mainly from people in close contact with one another through respiratory droplets that are inhaled or land in another’s mouth or nose. 

How Employers Can Reduce Workers’ Risk of Exposure

To reduce the risk of exposure, follow these basic steps:

• Develop an Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan:

Develop a guide on protective actions against COVID-19 that incorporates recommendations from state and local health agencies. This should address the need for social distancing, exposure-reducing measures, and controls necessary to address those risks.

• Prepare to Implement Basic Infection Prevention Measures:

This should place an emphasis on employers enforcing basic infection prevention and implementing good hygiene and infection control practices. This includes encouraging workers to stay home when sick, practicing frequent disinfection, respiratory etiquette, and not using others’ workspaces.

• Develop Policies and Procedures for Prompt Identification and Isolation of Sick:

Employers should inform on symptoms and develop policies for employees to self-monitor for symptoms. Any confirmed cases of the virus should be isolated from the worksite and their workspace should be marked off with a temporary barrier.

• Develop, Implement, and Communicate about Workplace Flexibilities and Protections:

Encourage employees to stay home when sick by allowing leave policies to be flexible, developing non-punitive leave policies, and not requiring a note from a healthcare provider. This also includes being understanding about workers taking care of sick family members, being aware of their health and safety concerns, and working with insurance companies on providing information about medical care in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak.

• Implement Workplace Controls:

To eliminate the hazards a combination of control measures including engineering controls, administrative controls, and safe work practices is necessary to effectively protect workers from exposure.

Different Forms of Control:

• Engineering Controls: Isolate employees from work-related hazards where appropriate to avoid relying on worker behavior. These can include high-efficiency air filters, ventilation rates, and physical barriers.

• Administrative Controls: This includes any changes in workplace policy and procedures that reduce exposure to a hazard like minimizing contact, establishing alternating shifts, and providing workers with up-to-date training and education on COVID-19.

• Safe Work Practices: Administrative control that include procedures for safe and proper work to reduce the duration and frequency of exposure to a hazard by providing resources on personal hygiene, requiring regular handwashing, and supplying disinfectants. This can also be done with Coronavirus awareness training and awareness classes to further educate your employees on COVID-19 safety.

• Personal Protective Equipment: PPE like gloves, goggles, face shields, and masks should be used in addition to, rather than in place of, the above workplace controls to prevent certain exposures. Make sure to provide PPE Safety Training if needed.

Classifications of Exposure

Worker risk of occupational exposure to COVID-19 is classified into very high, high, medium, or lower (caution) risk. The risk level is determined by the industries’ need for workers to be within 6 feet of someone suspected of being infected.

This helps employers determine the appropriate precautions for their workplace depending on which category they fall into.

• Very High Exposure Risk:

These employees have the highest potential for exposure to known or suspected sources of COVID-19. This can include healthcare workers performing procedures on COVID-19 patients, laboratory personnel collecting specimens from patients, or morgue workers performing autopsies on the bodies of those known to have COVID-19 at the time of their death. Employers for very high exposure risk jobs should require all forms of engineering controls, administrative controls, and all safe work practices available, as well as all PPE including respirators.

• High Exposure Risk:

These employees are at a high risk of exposure because they are in direct contact with suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19. This includes those working with COVID-19 patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and emergency response facilities. Employers of high exposure risk workers should follow the same guidelines as those given to very high exposure risk, though this is only a recommendation instead of a requirement.

• Medium Exposure Risk:

These are people in a workforce who are required to be in close contact with other people who may be exposed including their co-workers. This includes places with ongoing community transmission, travel, and contact with the public in settings like schools, food processing, and high-volume retail centers. Employers for medium risk exposure workers should install physical barriers like sneeze guards, offer face masks to employees and customers, keep informed on symptoms of COVID-19 and not allow anyone experiencing those symptoms in the workplace, limit public access to only certain places, minimize face-to-face contact and select a combination of PPE to protect workers specific to their workplace.

• Low Risk (Caution):

The majority of American’s make up this category with jobs that don’t require any contact with the public or any suspected of being infected, in addition, this means minimal contact with coworkers and the public. Employers for workers within this category should follow safety protocols and basic steps to reduce the risk of exposure and they are not recommended to require any additional engineering control or PPE other than what is required by the CDC and state and local laws.

Employees Living or Travelling Abroad

Businesses with employees traveling internationally or living abroad take on a different set of risks not associated with any one level. To combat these risks, employers should communicate to workers abroad that travel into or out of a country may not be possible or medically advisable due to COVID-19 outbreak conditions.

Employees abroad also need to be aware that the U.S. Department of State (DOS) cannot provide Americans traveling or living abroad with medications or supplies. It is likely that governments will respond to an outbreak by imposing public health measures that restrict domestic and international movement, meaning that the U.S. government’s ability to assist Americans in these countries would be even more limited.

For more information to further educate yourself on international travel during an outbreak, consult the section of OSHA’s website on “Business Travelers”, consult CDC travel warnings, and DOS travel advisories.

Assistance and Services

Staying informed on the latest developments and recommendations is critical for employees because specific guidance may change based on new information that arises. Follow federal, state, and local government agencies for communication on guidelines that apply to you in your area.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers have the responsibility to provide safe work environments for their employees. OSHA helps ensure that health and safety standards are enforced for all of America’s working men and women by setting proper guidelines and providing training, education, and assistance.

Additional OSHA Services:

• Compliance Assistance Specialists: They work to provide information to employers on OSHA standards with educational programs and information on compliance assistance resources.
• No-Cost On-Site Safety and Health Consultation Services for Small Business: Offer confidential advice to small and medium-sized businesses with priority to high-hazard worksites.
• Cooperative Programs: Allows businesses and labor groups to work cooperatively with OSHA.
• Strategic Partnerships and Alliances: Provides a chance for OSHA to partner with employers, associations, labor organizations, and others to develop tools and resources to share with workers to educate on their rights and responsibilities.
• Voluntary Protection Programs: The VPP recognizes those who have effectively implemented safety and health programs in the private sector and federal agencies.
• Occupational Safety and Health Training: Delivers courses on OSHA standards and health and safety topics to students.
• OSHA Educational Materials: OSHA has many materials to assist workers in finding and preventing any hazards including QuickTakes, newsletters, and publications.

To help further educate your employees, National Safety Compliance offers health and safety posters on 5 steps to stop COVID-19 spread, hand washing, respirator safe use, protecting yourself and others, answering novel coronavirus questions, and determining the difference between social distancing, quarantine, and isolation.

Order our booklet Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 for a complete outline of everything you need to know about keeping your employees and workplace safe, efficient, and compliant according to current OSHA guidelines. These low-cost booklets will receive an automatic bulk discount in your cart when you buy 10 or more.

As mentioned earlier, we also have an Infectious Disease Training Program to help employers train for COVID-19 and future pandemics, which was newly created for Summer 2020. This program is available on DVD, USB, or via Instant Digital Access. It includes a trainer’s guide, compliance manual, PowerPoint presentation, employees quizzes, answer keys, supplemental documents, completion certificates, and wallet cards. These documents are all in digital form, so employers can print them for as many employees as they need at no additional costs.

National Safety Compliance is dedicated to helping employers identify and amend any job hazards to improve their safety and health programs. Our safety training programs are designed to help employers comply with their responsibilities under OSHA regulations and substantially reduce the number and severity of workplace illnesses. If you have any questions, please call us a 877-992-7233, reach us by e-mail at sales@nscemail.com, or comment below.

The impact of COVID-19 has left no aspect of daily life untouched. Everything from going to the airport or showing up to work every day has been completely altered as COVID-19 shows its effects on all financial markets and industries. This pandemic has revealed the need for specialized training, so National Safety Compliance has developed a complete infectious disease control training program to help protect your business, employees, and clients from further danger or disruption.

Businesses have been constantly working towards reducing the impact of COVID-19 by planning and preparing as far in advance as possible for the safety of employers, workers and customers.

Many are concerned about the potential risk for exposure, how to control sources of exposure and slow down the transmission of the disease. If employers move forward without proper planning and training employees, these concerns may become a reality.

Lack of continually planning and preparing will result in the consistent failure of employers’ attempts to address the challenges of the pandemic. In order to succeed in your efforts to keep your employees safe, you must have both sufficient resources and adequate training for your employees to perform their jobs under pandemic conditions.

Proper pandemic planning should be based on infection prevention, industrial hygiene practices and personal protective equipment (PPE) use. Moving forward, employers and employees should be mindful of this training guidance to identify any risks in workplace settings, determine the appropriate measures to implement and take the necessary steps to ensure a safe workplace for all.

Having an In-Depth Understanding of COVID-19

In order to understand how to prevent the spread of the disease, you have to first have a better understanding of the disease itself. There is a constant flow of new information as researchers discover more about the disease.

Here is what we currently know about the disease. The virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person when they are in close contact with one another or through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

While infected surfaces and objects are not the primary way of acquiring the disease, it is possible to procure the virus by touching an infected surface or object and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.

It is believed that those who are infected are most contagious when they are most symptomatic. Meaning, the more symptoms you show, the more contagious you are. But people can also carry and spread the disease while they are asymptomatic.

Symptoms often appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus and include a cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, loss of taste or smell and many other potential symptoms.

It is important to stay up to date with current conditions during the pandemic. Many assume once they know the basic methods of prevention and symptoms to watch out for they are educated enough, but new information about the virus may require changes in how you operate your workplace.

Looking ahead, new information is still being sought about the virus to help understand the disease. It is vital that employers continue to stay up to date on all aspects of COVID-19 to better understand how to protect against infection, treat cases and provide safe workplaces as the economy continues to open back up.

Utilize valuable resources like the CDC, OSHA and local and state governmental agencies in order to stay up to date on new information.

Implementing Pandemic Preparedness Plan

The first step to safety for your employers during this outbreak is to develop an infectious disease preparedness and response plan. While making this you should be mindful of current regulations and recommendations from local agencies to incorporate into your plan.

Your plan should prepare your business for increased worker absenteeism, change in commerce patterns, delivery and supply disruptions, the need for social distancing and conducting essential operations with a reduced workforce and cross-training.

You should also consider the level of risk associated with various job tasks and which controls may be necessary to address them. For instance, it is important to determine how and where your employees can be exposed, as well as each individuals risk factors.

These risk factors will be different for each employee. Protection and PPE should be provided for customers who come in close contact with others.

You should also gauge the health of your employees consistently and encourage them to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of disease. This can be done by putting policies into place that ensure employees report if they are experiencing any symptoms and designating a room to close off so they can be isolated until medical help can arrive.

Workplace Controls and OSHA Standards 

The best way to control hazards is to systematically remove them from the workplace. A combination of control measures is necessary to reduce exposure.

One form of this is engineering controls. This can include installing high-efficiency air filters, ventilation rates, physical barriers like sneeze guards and pressure ventilation.

Another form is administrative controls which should be included within any workplace plan. Consider including policies like encouraging sick employees to stay home, minimizing contact between any people within the building, establishing flexible worksites, discontinuing non-essential work travel and providing employees with up to date education and training on pandemic risk factors.

You should also be mindful of safe work practices which is a form of control measures that emphasizes good hygiene and infection control practices. This includes frequent hand washing, respiratory etiquette and routine housekeeping procedures to clean and disinfect.

And the final form of control measures is to provide proper PPE. This can include gloves, masks, face shields and goggles. Beyond simply providing PPE, employers should also provide training on proper use of PPE by having them properly fitted, regularly inspected and properly removed, cleaned and stored.

A combination of all of these forms is the perfect method for eliminating any risks to your employees. Businesses must also be mindful of OSHA guidelines on PPE, the General Duty Clause and Bloodborne Pathogens.

OSHA has divided job tasks into four risk exposure levels in the shape of a pyramid to represent probable risk. This ranges from very high exposure risk which would include healthcare or morgue workers to lower exposure risk which includes jobs that don’t require any contact with people suspected of being infected and minimal contact with the public.

Overall, the best workplace control to put into place is to communicate openly with your employees about the current situation of the workplace, provide training as needed and ensure employees are informed of safety precautions being taken.

At National Safety Compliance, we offer a number of different ways to train your employees on infectious disease training and planning. Here on OSHA-Safety-Training.net we offer complete infectious disease training programs with videos, trainers guides, PowerPoint presentations, quizzes, printable completion certificates, wallet cards, and more on DVD, USB, or Digital Access. We also offer complete online training modules on our OSHA Online Training site. Also, make sure to purchase posters in our series of informational COVID-19 safety posters.

If you have any further questions, please comment below, reach out to us via e-mail, or call us at 877-922-7233.