California’s First-in-Nation Work Violence Law Sets Vague Duties

Businesses in California must prepare workplace violence prevention plans by next summer under a first-in-the-nation state law that some attorneys have called vague and tricky to implement.

California became the first state with a job violence law that applies to a broad swath of industries, after Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the measure late last month. It and others already have regulations to protect health-care employers from such harm.

The new law requires employers to have an “effective” program to prevent workplace violence in place by July 1, when the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health will begin enforcement. ...