On May 13, 2025, Cal/OSHA released a new discussion draft of its proposed regulation on Workplace Violence Prevention in General Industry. This latest version updates the July 15, 2024 draft we previously blogged about, and reflects stakeholder input gathered through the advisory committee process.
Key Proposed Revisions
Confronting Suspected Criminals
One of the most significant changes is the removal of the provision that prohibited employers from requiring employees to confront individuals suspected of committing a crime or engaging in workplace violence. In the July 15 draft, section (c)(10)(B) had stated:
"Employers shall not require or encourage employees to confront persons suspected of committing a criminal act or persons suspected of engaging in workplace violence."
This entire subsection has been struck from the May 13 draft, signaling a shift away from what some stakeholders viewed as an overly restrictive operational mandate. The exception for dedicated security personnel, which had preserved confrontation authority for trained individuals, is no longer relevant.
Clarified Scope and Exemptions
Cal/OSHA has revised several exemptions to provide clearer applicability thresholds:
- Employer size for exemption from the regulation is now based on total headcount, not fluctuating staffing "at any given time," addressing concerns about regulatory uncertainty.
- Certain industries, including security, janitorial, and domestic work, are covered by the regulation, even if the workplaces are open to the public.
Clarified and Expanded Definitions
In response to concerns that the definitions of "engineering controls" and "work practice controls" in the earlier draft could be enforced as mandates, the definitions now include language to emphasize that not all listed controls are required.
However, the updated definition of "workplace violence hazards" creates new concerns for employers. The draft still includes examples of working conditions that Cal/OSHA would presumptively consider hazardous, such as "frequent or regular contact with the public," "entries to places of employment where unauthorized access can occur," and adds conditions that are based entirely on subjective determinations, such as "hostile work environments" and "inadequate staffing."
The new draft also adds a definition of authorized employee representative for purposes of the regulation only, which means "an organization that has a collective bargaining relationship with an employer or an organization acknowledged by a public agency as representing its employees." Similar to employees, authorized employee representatives are permitted to request records related to hazard identification, evaluation and correction, training, and violent incident logs.
Employee Reporting
The May 13 draft adds a provision that requires employers to provide a non-supervisory reporting channel for concerns about "types 3" workplace violence, violence by an employee against another employee, supervisor, or manager. Cal/OSHA made this change in response to stakeholder comments that expressed concern about potential suppression of reporting violent incidents when they involved an employee's supervisor.
Record Retention Rules
Cal/OSHA's advisory committee reorganized the Recordkeeping section, attempting to simplify the draft rule. Notably, the May 13 draft clarifies that all records required under the rule, except training records, must be kept for five years. Training records must be kept for at least one year.
Next Steps
The draft will likely continue evolving through Cal/OSHA's advisory committee process before moving into formal rulemaking. In the meantime, employers should continue to implement their existing Workplace Violence Prevention Programs but be mindful that updates will likely be required when Cal/OSHA's Workplace Violence Prevention regulation is finalized.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
