Compliance Hub
Workplace Violence Prevention Law — The National Landscape
California led. New York, Ohio, and Texas followed. Virginia's healthcare mandate is in effect. More states are moving. This is the complete picture of where the law stands and where it is going.
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— Where Things Stand
The compliance map is expanding faster than most employers realize.
Workplace violence prevention legislation has moved from a California-specific concern to a national compliance landscape in less than two years. Five states now have active general industry or broadly applicable mandates. More than a dozen states have healthcare-specific laws already in effect. Legislation is advancing in Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, and other states.
The pattern is consistent across states: healthcare mandates come first, then retail, then general industry. California's SB-553 is the most comprehensive general industry mandate in the country. New York's Retail Worker Safety Act extended the obligation to retail. Ohio, Texas, and Virginia have active healthcare mandates. The direction of travel is clear.
Federal OSHA's General Duty Clause applies in every state regardless of specific statutory mandates — an employer that has identified a workplace violence risk and taken no action is exposed to federal enforcement independent of state law. A federal healthcare-specific standard has been introduced in Congress and will continue to advance in future sessions.
For multi-state employers, the compliance obligation is not additive — it is intersecting. A California-compliant program with the right architecture can be adapted for Virginia, New York, Ohio, and Texas without rebuilding from scratch. The employers who built real programs in 2024 are in a structurally better position than those who filed templates.
— State-by-State Status
Active laws, pending legislation, and what's coming.
| State | Law / Bill | Industries Covered | Status | Deadline | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | SB-553 | All industries | In effect | July 1, 2024 | CaliforniaGuide → |
| New York | Retail Worker Safety Act | Retail (10+ employees) | In effect | June 2, 2025 (policy/training); Jan 1, 2027 (silent response button) | New YorkGuide → |
| Ohio | HB 452 | Hospitals | In effect | July 9, 2025 | OhioGuide → |
| Texas | SB 240 | Broad healthcare | In effect | September 1, 2024 | TexasGuide → |
| Virginia | HB 2269 / SB 1162 | Healthcare | In effect | July 1, 2025 | VirginiaGuide → |
| Virginia | HB 1919 | All employers (100+) | Vetoed | Vetoed March 24, 2025 | VirginiaGuide → |
| Illinois | SB 1435 | Hospitals | In effect | July 1, 2025 | |
| Vermont | New healthcare law | Healthcare | In effect | April 2025 | |
| Washington | HB 1162 | Healthcare | Advancing | TBD | |
| Massachusetts | H.2655 / H.2364 | Healthcare | In committee | TBD | |
| Oregon | HB 2552 | Healthcare | In committee | TBD | |
| Alaska | SB 49 | All employers | In committee | TBD | |
| Connecticut | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing | |
| Maryland | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing | |
| Minnesota | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing | |
| New Jersey | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing | |
| Maine | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing | |
| Louisiana | Existing law | Healthcare | In effect | Existing |
Table reflects laws known as of May 2026. Kestralis Group monitors state legislative developments and updates this guide as new laws are enacted or existing laws are amended. Contact us if you believe a law or amendment is missing.
— Free Resource
Multi-State Compliance Checklist
32 requirements. 5 states. One document.
Download the complete checklist covering California SB-553, New York's Retail Worker Safety Act, Ohio HB 452, Texas SB 240, and Virginia's healthcare mandate — mapped side by side so you can evaluate your multi-state posture in a single pass.
- 32 requirements mapped
- 5 active state mandates
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— Detailed Guides
The five states with the most immediate compliance obligations.
The following states have active mandates with passed deadlines or near-term deadlines requiring employer action now. Each has a full compliance guide with detailed requirements, deadlines, and what a compliant program must include.
— Federal OSHA
No general industry standard yet. The General Duty Clause applies regardless.
Federal OSHA does not currently have a specific workplace violence prevention standard for general industry. A healthcare-specific standard — the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (HR 2531, 119th Congress) — has been introduced in multiple sessions without passage. Under the current administration, a federal general industry standard is not anticipated in the near term.
What does apply, in every state and every industry regardless of specific statute, is the OSHA General Duty Clause. It requires employers to maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm. Workplace violence is a recognized hazard. An employer that has identified a violence risk — through prior incidents, employee reports, or the nature of the work environment — and taken no meaningful preventive action is exposed to federal enforcement independent of any state law.
The practical implication: the absence of a specific state mandate is not a safe harbor. Employers in states without active workplace violence legislation are still subject to the General Duty Clause and to the tort liability framework for negligent security and workplace violence negligence. State mandates define a floor. They do not define a ceiling.
— A Sector Under Particular Pressure
Healthcare employers face obligations in more than a dozen states.
The national workplace violence prevention legislative movement began in healthcare — and healthcare employers face the most immediate and widespread obligations.
States with active healthcare-specific workplace violence prevention laws include California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Vermont. That is fifteen states with active mandates. A healthcare employer operating across multiple states is almost certainly operating under multiple active mandates simultaneously.
The requirements across these laws share a common architecture — written prevention plan, risk assessment, training, incident reporting, anti-retaliation — but differ in specifics. Illinois requires panic buttons in hospitals. Ohio requires 24/7 trained coverage in emergency departments. Texas requires immediate post-incident services and patient care reassignment protections. Ohio requires attestation of compliance through a state platform. A healthcare employer that builds to the most demanding standard in each state it operates in, using a configurable multi-state framework, is in a structurally better position than one building separate programs state by state.
Kestralis Group builds multi-state healthcare compliance programs as coordinated systems — a shared foundation with state-specific configurations. The work done for California does not need to be duplicated for Texas. The Ohio requirements build on what Texas already required. The program architecture scales.
— Multi-State Compliance
One program architecture. Multiple state configurations.
The most efficient path to multi-state compliance is not building separate programs for each state — it is building one program designed from the outset to be configured for each state's specific requirements.
The core architecture is consistent across every active mandate: a written, site-specific prevention plan; a functioning incident reporting system; annual training with documented completion; anti-retaliation protections; and a named responsible party. Every state adds specific requirements on top of that foundation — California adds the Violent Incident Log and four-type violence classification; Ohio adds the interdisciplinary planning team and governing body reporting; Texas adds patient reassignment protections; New York adds the silent response button for large retailers.
A program built to California's standard — the most demanding general industry mandate in the country — satisfies the foundational requirements of every other active mandate. The state-specific additions are configurations, not rebuilds.
For healthcare employers operating in multiple states, the Texas framework is the broadest starting point — six facility types, committee requirement, annual governing body reporting. Layering in Ohio's 24/7 coverage requirement and attestation obligation, Virginia's healthcare documentation requirements, and California's Violent Incident Log produces a program that covers the full multi-state healthcare obligation.
Kestralis Group has built this architecture. We can assess your current posture across all states where you operate, identify the gaps, and build or update your program as a coordinated multi-state system.
— The Outlook
The direction is clear. The question is timing.
Several indicators point to continued expansion of workplace violence prevention legislation through 2026 and 2027.
Virginia's general industry mandate will return. Governor Youngkin is term-limited and leaves office in January 2026. The HB 1620 workgroup report — due December 1, 2026 — establishes the evidentiary foundation for a 2027 legislative push under a new administration. The outcome is probable, not speculative.
Massachusetts has multiple active healthcare bills and a history of proactive employment legislation. Washington's healthcare bill is advancing. Oregon's committee bill is developing. Each represents a market that will need advisory support when the law passes — and an SEO opportunity for organizations that establish authority ahead of the deadline.
The federal healthcare standard, introduced as HR 2531, will be reintroduced in the 120th Congress. A future administration with a more active regulatory posture could move it quickly. When a federal healthcare standard passes, every covered employer in the country faces a compliance obligation simultaneously. The organizations with existing programs will adapt. Those without will scramble.
The national general industry standard follows the same pattern at larger scale. California is the template. The organizations that built California-compliant programs are building the foundation for national compliance.
— Next step
Operating in multiple states? Start with a compliance assessment.
A 30-minute consultation with a Kestralis Group principal will tell you which states you are exposed in, what each mandate requires, and what a coordinated multi-state program looks like for your organization.