3 Things You Didn't Know About the CA Bill

As a business owner, you do your best to keep everything afloat and your employees happy. You care about their safety and well-being. In this day and age, security threats are a common concern, as unfortunate as that sounds. With these concerns, you need to be aware of security technologies and what practices are most effective for a secure business and safe employees. One of the recent security news pieces circulating is regarding California’s Senate Bill 553.

What is the “CA Bill,” you ask? It is a new workplace violence prevention law, according to SHRM (also titled the SB 553/California Labor Code Section 6401.9). Here are three things you should know that you might be unaware of regarding the CA Bill.

3 Pieces of California Bill SB 553

According to Jameson Ritter, a security leader and Director of Risk Services for Alert Protection Services (APS), these three things are the most critical components of the CA Bill,

“1) The need for a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program.

2) The need for employee training.

3) A reporting and documentation component for employees to report.”
Jameson Ritter, CTM, CPP, PSP, PCI

He mentions that the reporting side of it would/should be through official channels, anonymously, and allow employers to track reports. It is the employer’s responsibility to keep a log and a record of any security incidents. Additionally, Ritter adds that there are some “… provisions for the unions (if present) or employers to be able to apply for protective orders on behalf of their employees.”

California Bill SB 553 Requirements

This new law will require employees to train for and be up-to-date on violence prevention, require employers to provide a plan for violence prevention, and require employers to keep a record of threats. To clarify, this encompasses a violence prevention plan, training, and recording and reporting of threats (from Navigating California’s SB 553: A Comprehensive Guide to Workplace Violence Prevention Compliance by Jameson Ritter).

Here is what SHRM mentions from their article, “There are three important aspects of SB 553 that employers need to consider: 1) coordinating compliance with other employers; 2) determining which employees should be involved in plan development and receive training; and 3) addressing certain required plan elements, like assessing workplace violence hazards.”

Let APS Help you with compliance

Does this worry you? We understand it can be a lot of information to take in. That’s why you have us at APS. We can help secure your business through a notification and communication alerting system that allows you to quickly relay critical information to your staff and law enforcement. This technology is called Alert-Com. In summary, Alert-Com allows you to be notified instantly in an emergency, alert your local first responders, and save you seconds. Research has shown that this technology is effective and worthwhile.

Do you have further questions or want to schedule a security and risk assessment? Contact us. We have the technology you need for fast emergency response times.