Labor Code §6401.9 – Workplace Violence Prevention Plans

Labor Code §6401.9 says most California employers must create, carry out and keep up a written workplace violence prevention plan, log every workplace violence incident, and train employees on the plan, and those duties have been enforceable since July 1, 2024. The section was added by Senate Bill 553, signed September 30, 2023, and Cal/OSHA enforces it.

This page explains the statute itself: who it covers, what each subdivision requires, which records you can ask for, and how it is enforced. For practical next steps after a threat or attack at a grocery store, see our guide to workplace violence rights at a grocery store. If you were hurt, our guide to workers’ comp for workplace assaults covers benefits.

What Labor Code 6401.9 says, in plain English

• Your employer must have a written plan to prevent workplace violence that is in effect at all times, easy for you to get to, and specific to each work area.
• The plan must spell out who runs it, how employees take part, how reports are taken without retaliation, how emergencies are handled, and how hazards are found and fixed.
• Every workplace violence incident goes into a violent incident log, without personal identifying information.
• You must get training when the plan starts, every year after that, and when a new hazard or plan change comes up.
• You can ask for copies of key records, and the employer must provide them within 15 calendar days, at no cost.

By the numbers15 calendar days

Who §6401.9 covers

Subdivision (b) applies the section broadly to employers, employees, places of employment and employer-provided housing. Subdivision (b)(2) then lists six exemptions, and paragraph (3) lets Cal/OSHA, through an order to take special action, require an otherwise exempt employer or workplace to comply:

• (A) and (B) Health care facilities, service categories and operations covered by Cal/OSHA’s health care workplace violence standard (8 CCR §3342), and employers that comply with that standard. Those workplaces follow §3342 instead; see our healthcare worker rights guide.
• (C) Corrections facilities that comply with Cal/OSHA’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program rule (8 CCR §3203).
• (D) Certain law enforcement agencies that take part in the state’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program, if all of their facilities comply with §3203.
• (E) Employees teleworking from a location “of the employee’s choice, which is not under the control of the employer.”
• (F) Places with fewer than 10 employees working there at any given time that are not open to the public and that comply with §3203.

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What counts as workplace violence

Subdivision (a) defines workplace violence as “any act of violence or threat of violence that occurs in a place of employment.” It includes threatened or actual physical force that causes, or is highly likely to cause, injury, psychological trauma or stress, whether or not you were actually hurt, and threatened or actual use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, including common objects used as weapons. It does not include “lawful acts of self-defense or defense of others.” The statute sorts incidents into four types:

Type	Who commits it
Type 1	Someone with no legitimate business at the worksite, including a person who enters to commit a crime
Type 2	Customers, clients, patients, students, inmates or visitors
Type 3	A present or former employee, supervisor or manager
Type 4	A non-employee who has, or is known to have had, a personal relationship with an employee

The written plan: subdivision (c)

The plan can be part of the employer’s Injury and Illness Prevention Program or a separate document. Subdivision (c)(2) requires it to include:

1. Names or job titles of the people responsible for the plan.
2. Effective procedures “to obtain the active involvement of employees” in developing and carrying out the plan.
3. Methods to coordinate with other employers at a shared worksite.
4. Procedures to accept and respond to reports of workplace violence and “to prohibit retaliation against an employee who makes such a report.”
5. Procedures to make sure supervisors and other employees follow the plan.
6. Procedures to communicate with employees about workplace violence, including how to report it and how investigations come out.
7. Emergency response procedures, including alerts, evacuation or sheltering, and how to get help.
8. Procedures to develop and provide the required training.
9. Procedures to identify and evaluate hazards, including periodic inspections.
10. Procedures to correct hazards in a timely way.
11. Post-incident response and investigation procedures.
12. Review and revision of the plan at least once a year, after a deficiency is found, and after an incident.

Cal/OSHA publishes a model written plan for general industry that employers may use as a starting point.

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The violent incident log: subdivision (d)

Your employer must record information in a violent incident log for “every workplace violence incident,” leaving out personal identifying information. Each entry covers the date, time and location; the type of violence; a detailed description; who the attacker was (for example, a customer or coworker); the circumstances; where it happened; the kind of incident (such as a physical attack or a threat); and the consequences, including whether security or police were called. The person who completed the entry lists their name, job title and the date.

By the numbersFive years

Training: subdivision (e)

Training must fit employees’ “educational level, literacy, and language.” It must cover the plan and how to get a free copy, the section’s definitions and requirements, how to report incidents and concerns without fear of reprisal, the hazards specific to your job and how to protect yourself, the violent incident log and how to get records, and a chance to ask questions of someone who knows the plan. It happens when the plan is first set up, every year after that, and again when a new hazard is identified or the plan changes.

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Records and your right to see them: subdivision (f)

Record	Kept at least	Can you get a copy?
Hazard identification, evaluation and correction records	5 years	Yes, within 15 calendar days, free
Training records	1 year	Yes, within 15 calendar days, free
Violent incident logs	5 years	Yes, within 15 calendar days, free
Incident investigation records (no medical information)	5 years	Must be available to Cal/OSHA; not on the employee access list

Cal/OSHA says these records must be available to employees and their authorized representatives for examination and copying.

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Exceptions and limits

Besides the six exemptions above, keep two limits in mind. First, section 6401.9 is a safety standard enforced by Cal/OSHA. It does not itself spell out a private lawsuit an individual worker can bring over a missing plan. Second, subdivision (h) told Cal/OSHA to propose a general industry workplace violence standard by December 31, 2025, and the Standards Board to adopt one by December 31, 2026. As of late October 2026, Cal/OSHA’s rulemaking page still showed discussion drafts and advisory meetings for that standard, not an adopted rule. Until a standard is adopted, the statute’s own requirements are what employers must follow.

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Penalties and remedies

• Cal/OSHA citations and civil penalties. Subdivision (g) lets Cal/OSHA enforce the section by issuing citations and civil penalties in a manner consistent with Labor Code §6317. A cited employer can appeal the citation and penalty to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board.
• Retaliation protection. Reporting violence or a safety hazard is protected activity. See Labor Code §6310 for safety complaints, Labor Code §6311 for refusing truly hazardous work, and Labor Code §1102.5 for reports of legal violations.
• Restraining orders. Under Code of Civil Procedure §527.8, an employer, and since January 1, 2025 a collective bargaining representative, can seek a workplace violence restraining order for an employee. You must be given a chance to decline to be named in the order.
• Workers’ compensation. Physical and psychiatric injuries from violence at work can be covered. See Labor Code §3208.3 on psychiatric injury.

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Deadlines

What	Time limit	Source
Employer provides requested plan records	15 calendar days from your request	Lab. Code §6401.9(f)
Plan review and refresher training	At least once a year	Lab. Code §6401.9(c), (e)
Retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner	1 year after the retaliation (can be extended for good cause)	Lab. Code §98.7(a)
Telling your employer about a work injury	30 days after the injury	Lab. Code §5400
General industry standard adopted	Required by December 31, 2026	Lab. Code §6401.9(h)

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Related sections

Section	What it does
Lab. Code §6401.7	Requires an Injury and Illness Prevention Program, which the violence plan can be part of
8 CCR §3342	Separate workplace violence standard for covered health care settings
Lab. Code §6310	Bars retaliation for safety complaints
Lab. Code §6311	Protects refusing work where a safety violation would create “a real and apparent hazard”
Code Civ. Proc. §527.8	Workplace violence restraining orders
Lab. Code §3208.3	Rules for psychiatric injury claims in workers’ comp

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How it plays out

💡 Example: Rosa, a hypothetical cashier at a hardware store open to the public, is threatened by a customer who says he will come back with a gun. That is Type 2 violence, and it counts even though no one was hurt. Rosa tells her manager and, on March 3, asks in writing for a copy of the violent incident log and her training records. Her employer must provide them by March 18 (March 3 + 15 calendar days), at no cost. If her hours are cut after the report, she has one year to file a retaliation complaint with the Labor Commissioner.

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What to do

Ask your supervisor or HR where the written plan is kept, report every threat or incident in writing, and keep your own notes with dates and names. If you want records, ask in writing and note the date. You can report safety concerns to Cal/OSHA, which takes confidential complaints. If you were hurt, report the injury to your employer and see a doctor. If you were punished for reporting, talk to an employment lawyer before the one-year Labor Commissioner deadline runs.

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Frequently asked questions

Does every California employer need a workplace violence prevention plan?

Most do. The exemptions are narrow: covered health care settings that follow 8 CCR §3342, certain corrections and law enforcement facilities, employees teleworking from a place they choose, and workplaces with fewer than 10 employees at any time that are closed to the public and comply with the Injury and Illness Prevention Program rule.

Does a threat count as workplace violence if no one was hurt?

Yes. The definition covers “any act of violence or threat of violence” in a place of employment, including threatened use of force or a weapon that is highly likely to cause injury, psychological trauma or stress.

Does the law cover violence by a coworker or a supervisor?

Yes. Violence by a present or former employee, supervisor or manager is Type 3 violence, and the plan must include procedures to accept and respond to reports of it.

Can I see the violent incident log?

Yes. Subdivision (f) requires the employer to make the log, hazard records and training records available to you within 15 calendar days of a request, without cost. Entries leave out personal identifying information.

Is the plan the same as the Injury and Illness Prevention Program?

It can be a section of the IIPP or a separate document. Either way, it must be written, in effect at all times, easy for employees to access, and specific to each work area.

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Sources

• Labor Code §6401.9 (California.Public.Law mirror)
• Cal/OSHA: Workplace Violence Prevention for General Industry
• Cal/OSHA: Workplace violence prevention FAQ
• Cal/OSHA rulemaking: Workplace Violence Prevention in General Industry
• Code of Civil Procedure §527.8 (California.Public.Law mirror)
• Labor Code §98.7 (California.Public.Law mirror)

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