In today’s dynamic workplace environment, ensuring the safety and well-being of employees is paramount. On July 1, 2024, California’s new workplace violence prevention plan law, SB553, will take effect, signaling a significant shift in how businesses are required to address and prevent violence in the workplace. Senate Bill 553 (SB553) is a ground-breaking piece of legislation that mandates that all California employers with 5 or more employees must develop and maintain a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan.
To comply with SB553, employers must address several key components, including risk assessments, training programs, incident response protocols and record-keeping requirements. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in significant penalties, making it imperative for businesses to implement robust strategies to ensure compliance.
At Sodales, we understand the challenges that HR professionals face in navigating complex regulatory landscapes. That’s why we’ve integrated the latest advancements in our health, safety and employee relations platform to help organizations stay compliant with SB553 and enhance workplace safety.
Understanding SB553.
SB553 is a law that requires employers in California to establish, implement and maintain an effective workplace violence prevention plan. This law focuses on the prevention of workplace violence and is designed to protect employees from potential acts of violence, which can range from verbal threats to physical assaults. Under SB553, employers must:
SB553 requires California employers to take proactive measures to prevent workplace violence. This includes conducting thorough risk assessments to identify potential hazards, such as working alone, handling cash or interacting with the public. Employers must also provide comprehensive training to employees on recognizing and responding to potential threats, as well as establishing clear procedures for reporting incidents and seeking assistance.
Additionally, SB553 mandates that employers maintain records of workplace violence incidents, including detailed descriptions of the events and any corrective actions taken. This information must be retained for at least three years and made available to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) upon request.
Who is impacted?
All employers in California are required to comply with SB553 by developing, implementing and maintaining a comprehensive workplace violence prevention plan. This includes businesses of all sizes and across all industries. However, there are few exceptions.
Employers already adhering to Cal/OSHA’s Violence Prevention in Health Care standard, typically healthcare facilities, are exempt. Additionally, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employers, law enforcement agencies and employers with ten or fewer employees working in a location not open to the public are exempt. Employees who carry out their work remotely from a location outside the employer’s control and employers whose employees are located outside of California are also exempt from the law, as it only applies to California employers and their California employees.
HR professionals will play a key role in ensuring compliance with SB553. They will be responsible for developing violence prevention plans, conducting risk assessments, providing employee training and managing incident reporting and investigation processes.
How Sodales is Responding to SB 553
Sodales is committed to helping organizations streamline their compliance efforts with SB553. Our health, safety and employee relations modules are designed to simplify the process of developing, implementing and maintaining a workplace violence prevention plan, ensuring that organizations can meet the requirements of SB553 with ease. Here’s how we’re doing it:
Real-Time Incident Reporting for Workplace Violence
Sodales offers a user-friendly, mobile-enabled interface that allows employees and external users to confidentially report workplace violence incidents from any device. The platform supports anonymous reporting and configurable routing based on incident type, ensuring that reports are directed to the appropriate team or authority for timely action. Built with out-of-the-box functionality, Sodales includes prebuilt workflows and templates specifically aligned with SB 553 requirements, covering every stage from reporting and documentation to investigation, resolution and corrective action. These predefined, configurable workflows help organizations rapidly implement compliant processes without the need for custom development, enabling a proactive and consistent approach to workplace violence prevention.
Risk Assessments and Hazard Identification
The platform includes configurable checklists and dynamic templates to conduct comprehensive workplace risk assessments, helping organizations proactively identify hazards and analyze contributing factors such as environment, operations and job roles. These tools help fulfill the law’s mandate to evaluate workplace-specific risks and take corrective action.
Configurable, Streamlined Workflow Management for Workplace Violence
Sodales offers centralized management of workplace violence complaints, including automated workflows for case assignment, investigation tracking, escalation and task completion. These workflows ensure consistent documentation and timely resolution, crucial for mitigating risk and remaining compliant. The platform also enables linkage between grievance reports and disciplinary actions, providing full visibility into the lifecycle of a case.
Training, Communication and Accessibility
To meet the employee training and awareness components of SB 553, Sodales seamlessly integrates with Learning Management Systems (LMS) to support safety training and ongoing education. This integration enables organizations to track training participation, completion and acknowledgment, ensuring employees are properly informed about workplace violence prevention protocols. The platform also provides mobile access for convenient training and incident reporting, empowering both employees and external users (via an external portal) to actively engage in violence prevention initiatives.
External User Access and Single Sign-On
SB 553 allows workplace violence incidents to be reported by non-employees in certain contexts. Sodales accommodates this by offering secure external portal access, enabling vendors, contractors and third parties to submit concerns. The platform also supports single sign-on (SSO) for internal users, simplifying access while maintaining security.
Advanced Analytics and Dashboards for Risk Mitigation
Sodales’ in-depth data analytics and dashboarding tools help organizations identify trends in workplace violence, such as recurring risk locations or shifts, enabling preventative measures. Dashboards track resolution times, incident volume, case types and even caseloads per team, ensuring better resource planning and management oversight.
Robust Record-Keeping and Legal Compliance
Compliance with SB 553 includes maintaining detailed records of prevention plans, incidents, corrective actions and training. Sodales ensures this through robust legal hold and data retention features, along with configurable audit logs that maintain historical data for legal review and audits. This enhances transparency and supports organizational accountability.
Seamless Integration and Policy Alignment
The Sodales platform integrates seamlessly with leading HR and ERP systems including SAP S4, SuccessFactors, Workday, PeopleSoft and Microsoft 365, ensuring that employee data, organization hierarchy and reporting structures are automatically populated. The policy library integration ensures that applicable documents, like workplace violence prevention plans, are automatically attached to related grievances and investigations.
Supporting Unionized Environments
For unionized organizations, Sodales provides CBA management tools and union self-service portals, giving unions visibility into their own grievance and complaint processes. This helps manage communication, address incidents collaboratively and reduce the risk of escalation.
With its configurable, enterprise-grade capabilities, Sodales helps organizations not only comply with SB 553, but also create safer, more transparent workplaces where violence prevention is proactive, collaborative and continuous.
Why is SB553 important?
SB553 holds employers accountable for maintaining a secure workplace and can lead to improved overall workplace safety standards. This is particularly important in industries where employees are at a higher risk of encountering violent situations, such as healthcare, retail and education.
Reporting workplace violence helps in identifying patterns or trends, informing strategies to prevent future occurrences and ensuring that employees who fall victim to workplace violence receive the necessary support, whether it’s medical, psychological or legal. Using Sodales’ complaint management module, employees can report instances of workplace violence confidentially and securely, facilitating prompt investigation and resolution. The module also helps in maintaining detailed records of complaints and the actions taken, which is essential for demonstrating compliance with SB553’s requirements. It can be integrated with risk assessment tools and training modules, providing a comprehensive solution for preventing and addressing workplace violence.
Using Sodales demonstrates to employees that their employer is committed to their safety, which can improve morale and trust in the organization. Sodales becomes an indispensable tool for fostering a culture of accountability and respect, and for ensuring that all employees feel safe and supported in their workplace.
The importance of agility and adaptability.
The introduction of SB553 underscores the importance of agility and adaptability in any HR software. As regulations change and new challenges emerge, Sodales can respond quickly to ensure customers remain compliant and protected. By offering scalable, configurable, and user-friendly solutions, Sodales plays a crucial role in helping employers navigate the complexities of workplace violence prevention.
Get started with a demo.
The implementation of California’s SB553 law marks a significant step forward in the effort to create safer workplaces. For Sodales, it presents an opportunity to demonstrate our capabilities with our innovative solutions that not only comply with new regulations but also enhance overall employee safety and well-being. By staying ahead of the curve and continuously evolving our software, we are ensuring that our customers are well-equipped to meet the challenges of workplace violence prevention in the modern era.
As the deadline for compliance with SB553 approaches, now is the time for organizations to act and implement effective workplace violence prevention strategies. With Sodales’ cutting-edge software solutions, organizations can meet the requirements of SB553 and create a safer, more secure workplace for all. To learn more, click here to book your free industry-specific demo.
