California OSHA Standards Board Releases Updated Draft Workplace Violence Rule

Quick Hits

• On April 24, 2026, the Cal/OSHA Standards Board released a revised draft workplace violence rule that includes employer-provided transportation providing that the regulation applies to “all employers, employees, places of employment, employer-provided housing, and employer-provided transportation.”
• The revised draft clarifies that the regulation will not apply to employers when places of employment are not accessible to the public and the employer has fewer than a total of ten employees at the place of employment at all times during the preceding 365 days and is in compliance with the California injury and illness prevention plan regulations.
• The deadline for comments on the revised draft is June 1, 2026.

The draft regulation adds employer-provided transportation within the scope of what is covered. The discussion draft states that the regulation would apply to “all employers, employees, places of employment, employer-provided housing, and employer-provided transportation.”

However, the revised draft clarifies that the regulation would not apply to employers when places of employment are not accessible to the public and the employer has fewer than a total of ten employees at the place of employment at all times during the preceding 365 days and complies with the California injury and illness prevention plan regulations.

The definitions of “authorized employee representative” and “designated representative” were adjusted and added within the regulation.

The language around staffing levels as a workplace violence hazard was updated to delete references to hostile work environments, required and excessive overtime, working in high crime areas, and providing security services.

Employers would still have to offer or make available post-incident trauma counseling.

The draft regulation provides that training not given in person would have to include interactive questions to be answered within one business day by a person knowledgeable about the workplace violence prevention plan.

The crime of stalking under California Penal Code 646.9 was deleted from the definition of workplace violence although it is included in the list of examples of workplace violence hazards. The removal of the Penal Code reference to stalking was a win for California employers that pushed the Standards Board to delete that reference for reasons including the broad definition of stalking included harassment and also could have occurred from another state.

Workplace violence prevention plan

The draft regulation would require a workplace violence prevention plan that includes:

1. the name or job title of the person responsible for the plan;
2. procedures for active involvement of employees in developing and implementing the plan;
3. coordination of the plan with other employers at their worksites;
4. procedures to respond to reports of workplace violence;
5. compliance procedures;
6. communications methodologies for the plan including reporting workplace violence and communicating investigation results;
7. procedures for responding to emergencies;
8. training procedures;
9. procedures for identifying and evaluating workplace violence hazards;
10. methodology for correcting workplace violence hazards;
11. post-incident response procedures and investigation actions; and
12. procedures for review and evaluation of the workplace violence prevention plan.

The Standards Board will accept comments through June 1, 2026, and then provide a final version for the notice and subsequent vote. A vote approving the final draft standard is expected for late summer 2026 with an implementation date of January 1, 2027.

Ogletree Deakins’ Workplace Violence Prevention Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the California, Workplace Safety and Health, and Workplace Violence Prevention blogs as additional information becomes available.

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