The State Senate passed legislation on Wednesday to help employers keep employees safe at work. SB 553 by Senator Dave Cortese would establish new workplace violence prevention standards that target the types of workplace violence incidents that have become tragically common.
To name just a few, the Walgreens security guard who shot and killed Banko Brown last month had been reportedly directed by his employer to recover stolen items with a “hands on” approach. Also in April, a Home Depot employee was shot and killed while attempting to stop an active robbery at the Pleasanton store. And in 2021, a transit worker killed nine people in a rail yard in Senator Cortese’s Senate District 15, marking the deadliest mass shooting in the Bay Area.
“With growing awareness of workplace violence, California needs smarter guidelines to keep workers safe in the office or on the job site,” said Senator Cortese (D-San Jose). “Under my SB 553, employers would be prohibited from forcing their workers to confront active shoplifters, and all retail employees would be trained on how to react to active shoplifting. The legislation has other provisions that keep people safe at work. Let’s take every reasonable step to prevent another workplace assault or shooting.”
Assaults in retail establishments rose during the pandemic, according to a 2022 analysis by the New York Times. The analysis found that assaults in grocery stores grew by 63 percent from 2018 to 2020, and assaults in convenience stores grew by 75 percent.
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites workplace violence as the second leading cause of fatal occupational injury. The agency estimates that workplace violence affects nearly two million workers annually, with female workers experiencing higher rates of nonfatal injuries than their male counterparts.
Senator Cortese’s SB 553 would:
- Require employers to maintain a Violent Incident Log of all violent incidents against employees including post-incident investigations and response;
- Require all non-healthcare employers to provide active shooter training;
- Require retail employers to provide shoplifter training;
- Prohibit employers from maintaining policies that require workers to confront suspected active shoplifters;
- Include, as part of the existing Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP), an assessment of staffing levels as a cause for workplace violence incidents;
- Requires employers to include an evaluation of environmental risk factors in their Workplace Violence Prevention Plan.
- Allow an employee representative to be a petitioner for a workplace violence restraining order;
- Require employers to refer workers to wellness centers.
April 19: Senator Cortese Pushes SB 553 in Statement on Pleasanton Home Depot Shooting
1 comment
How much will this cost businesses to implement…they will pass that on to us the consumers. More soft ass liberal nonsense. Punish business because some of the population cannot behave. We are being held hostage by criminals and our so called leaders are rolling over and paying the ransoms. How about implementing consequences for breaking laws instead of making more rules for businesses.
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