Workplace Violence Prevention: An Employer's Guide
Risk assessment, written prevention plans, training, and incident logging — plus the state laws now imposing specific duties.
- Federal status
- General Duty Clause (no specific standard)
- California
- SB 553 written plan required
- Highest-risk sector
- Healthcare & social services
OSHA has no specific federal workplace-violence standard. Instead, it cites employers under the General Duty Clause when a recognized violence hazard goes unaddressed, with particular attention to healthcare and social-services settings, where most workplace-violence injuries occur.
Some states have moved ahead of the federal government. California's SB 553 requires most employers to maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan, train employees, and keep a violent-incident log.
Whether or not a specific rule applies to you, the defensible baseline is the same: assess the risk, write a prevention plan, engineer out hazards, train workers, and log and investigate incidents.
OSHA compliance checklist
- Write a workplace violence prevention plan — Required in California (SB 553) and a sound practice everywhere.
- Assess and engineer out hazards — Alarms, access control, and safe staffing in higher-risk settings.
- Train employees — Cover warning signs, de-escalation, and emergency response.
- Log and investigate incidents — Keep a violent-incident log and review root causes.
- Check state requirements — California and several states (notably for healthcare) impose specific duties.
A starting point, not legal advice — verify against the primary sources cited below and current rules for your jurisdiction.
Latest OSHA coverage
- Healthcare Workplace Violence Reaches a Tipping Point: Court Rulings, State Laws, and What Employers Must Do Now
- Workplace Violence Prevention Plans Are Now Required in More States: What HR Teams Need to Know
- Healthcare Workplace Violence in 2026: A Landmark Court Ruling and New State Laws Are Reshaping Employer Obligations
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. OSHA enforces workplace violence protections in healthcare under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act (Section 5(a)(1)), which requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed this authority in its February 2026 ruling in UHS of Delaware v. OSHRC.
Healthcare workers are approximately five times more likely to experience workplace violence than workers in other industries. According to federal data, the healthcare sector accounts for about 10% of the U.S. workforce but suffers nearly 48% of all nonfatal workplace violence injuries. Over 81% of nurses report experiencing at least one type of workplace violence in the past year.
More than 20 states now require some degree of workplace violence prevention in healthcare. Notable examples include California (Cal/OSHA regulations and SB 553), New York (hospital and nursing home prevention programs required as of December 2025), and Kentucky (HB 176 requiring safety assessments and prevention plans, with strengthening legislation introduced in 2026).
OSHA's enforcement directive (CPL 02-01-058) and agency guidelines recommend a written prevention plan that includes a worksite hazard analysis, engineering and administrative controls, staff training, an incident reporting and response system, post-incident investigation procedures, and regular program evaluation. States like California and New York have additional specific requirements.
No. The 10th Circuit explicitly rejected this argument in the UHS of Delaware case, ruling that CMS regulations address patient safety — not employee safety — and do not preempt OSHA's authority to enforce workplace violence protections for healthcare workers under the General Duty Clause.
California requires nearly all employers to maintain a written Workplace Violence Prevention Plan under SB 553 (Labor Code Section 6401.9), effective since July 1, 2024. New York requires public employers with 20 or more employees to have workplace violence prevention programs under Labor Law Section 27-b, and its Retail Worker Safety Act requires retail employers with 10 or more employees to adopt prevention policies effective June 2, 2025. Several other states have sector-specific requirements, particularly for healthcare employers.
Under California Labor Code Section 6401.9, a workplace violence prevention plan must include the names or job titles of persons responsible for implementation, procedures for employee involvement, methods for coordinating with other employers, procedures for accepting and responding to reports of violence, communication procedures, emergency response procedures, post-incident investigation procedures, and procedures for reviewing and updating the plan. Employers must also maintain a violent incident log and training records.
No. Federal OSHA does not currently have a specific workplace violence prevention standard. However, OSHA can cite employers under the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act (Section 5(a)(1)) for failing to address recognized workplace violence hazards. OSHA also recommends that all employers establish a zero-tolerance policy and develop a written workplace violence prevention program.