Training must also be conducted when changes to the violence prevention plan are made and/or when the employer identifies a new or previously unrecognized workplace violence hazard.

The training materials must be appropriate in content and vocabulary, accounting for your workforce's educational level, literacy and language. The training must include materials on:

• The employer's plan, how to obtain a copy of the employer's plan at no cost, and how to participate in development and implementation of the employer's plan.
• The plan's definitions and requirements.
• How to report workplace violence incidents or concerns to the employer or law enforcement without fear of reprisal.
• Workplace violence hazards specific to the employees' jobs, corrective measures the employer has implemented, how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and strategies to avoid physical harm.
• The violent incident log and how to obtain copies of the log; records related to the identification, evaluation and correction of workplace hazards; and training records.
• An opportunity for interactive questions and answers with a person knowledgeable about the employer's plan.2

Employers are required to maintain employee training records for one year.3

Employers’ training programs must be based on their worksite’s specific plans, which means there is no out-of-the-box training program available to employers that would comply with the law. Just as employers customize their plans to the worksite, they must customize their training program to their plans.

• CalChamber’s Workplace Violence Prevention Toolkit contains a model Workplace Violence Prevention Plan and a model Workplace Violence Prevention Training slide deck with instructions and suggested provisions to assist employers in meeting these requirements. To order, call (800) 331-8877, or visit our online store.

As part of employers’ workplace violence prevention training, depending on the type of business and worksite operation, employers may want to consider implementing certain training for first-level supervisors (see “Implement First-Level Supervisor Training” below) and abusive conduct training (see “‘Abusive Conduct’ Training” below), which may be an appropriate part of employers' workplace violence mitigation strategies.

Implement First-Level Supervisor Training

More than mid- and upper-level supervisors, first-level supervisors interact with employees, customers and clients on a regular basis. They are uniquely positioned to notice potential threats of violence before the behavior escalates to dangerous levels. As part of your workplace violence mitigation measures, you should consider training your supervisors in early threat recognition.

All supervisors must be able to identify behaviors that have a high correlation to violent behavior and the people who display those behaviors. This ability comes only through training. Early threat recognition training must include commonly seen scenarios and detailed descriptions of behavioral cues to watch for. When supervisors receive training to identify overly aggressive behavior, they can effectively act as the eyes and ears of the organization.

'Abusive Conduct' Training

It has long been understood that a relationship exists between bullying (or abusive behavior) and violence. In fact, many see bullying as the “younger sibling” to actual “hands-on” violence. It’s reasonable, therefore, for employers to make sure that employees know that bullying is not condoned or tolerated. In addition, the state of California requires all employers with five or more employees to conduct anti-harassment training for all employees.

Employees must provide one hour of sexual harassment prevention training to nonsupervisory employees and two hours of such training to supervisors. This training must include information on “abusive conduct,” which is defined as “conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interest....”

For more information, see Mandatory Harassment Prevention Training.

Abusive conduct may include repeated infliction of verbal abuse, such as the use of derogatory remarks, insults and epithets; verbal or physical conduct that a reasonable person would find threatening, intimidating or humiliating; or the gratuitous sabotage or undermining of a person’s work performance. For more information, see “Training on the Prevention of Abusive Conduct” in Mandatory Harassment Prevention Training.

Training on California’s new workplace violence prevention standards is also required.

1. Lab. Code sec. 6401.9(e)

2. Lab. Code sec. 6401.9(e)(2)

3. Lab. Code sec. 6401.9(f)(2)