California's SB-553 went into effect July 1, 2024 — but it was always intended as an interim measure. The law itself required Cal/OSHA to develop a permanent workplace violence prevention standard for general industry, with a deadline of December 31, 2026 for adoption.
That rulemaking is now in its final phase. Understanding where it stands and what it means for California employers is critical for organizations planning their compliance programs.
Where Does the Rulemaking Stand?
Cal/OSHA has been working on the permanent standard since SB-553 was signed into law in September 2023. The rulemaking has moved through several phases:
July 2024: Cal/OSHA published an initial draft regulation for general industry. This draft formed the basis for advisory committee review and public comment.
May 2025:Cal/OSHA published a revised draft incorporating advisory committee feedback. Key changes in the May 2025 version included removal of the prior “confronting criminals” ban — replaced with language prohibiting retaliation against employees involved in self-defense — and continued debate over the definition of “workplace violence hazards.”
November 2025:An advisory committee to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board met to discuss further revisions. Contentious issues included the definition of “workplace violence” (specifically whether to incorporate the California Penal Code stalking definition), the definition of “workplace violence hazards” (which in some draft versions included terms like “hostile work environment” and “inadequate staffing”), and whether individual trauma counseling should be a mandated program element.
December 2025 / Early 2026: A further draft regulation was anticipated for Standards Board consideration in early 2026.
The deadline:The Standards Board is required to adopt the permanent standard no later than December 31, 2026.
What Is the Permanent Standard Expected to Change?
Based on the draft regulatory language and advisory committee discussions, several areas of potential change or expansion are notable.
Will the Definition of Workplace Violence Expand?
Employee advocacy groups have consistently pushed to broaden the definition of workplace violence to include stalking behaviors under the California Penal Code definition. The current SB-553 definition focuses on acts and threats of physical force and incidents involving weapons. An expanded definition incorporating stalking behavior would require employers to address a broader category of situations in their WVPPs and Violent Incident Logs.
How Will the Workplace Violence Hazard Definition Change?
The May 2025 draft included specific workplace violence hazard categories that went beyond physical threat indicators — including “hostile work environment” and “inadequate staffing” as potential hazards. Trade groups have pushed back on these inclusions, arguing they are too vague and potentially expose employers to citations for conditions unrelated to targeted violence risk. How the Standards Board resolves this debate will significantly affect the compliance burden.
Will Trauma Counseling Be Required?
Employee advocacy groups have pushed for mandatory trauma counseling to be incorporated into the regulation — requiring employers to provide individual counseling following a workplace violence incident. Employer groups have resisted this as a significant unfunded mandate. The final resolution of this debate is not yet determined.
What Happens to Smaller Employer Exceptions?
Discussions have included the question of whether the current threshold (fewer than 10 employees at a location not accessible to the public) should be adjusted for the permanent standard. Any change to this threshold would affect the universe of covered employers.
What Does This Mean for Organizations with Existing Programs?
For organizations that have built genuine, substantive workplace violence prevention programs since July 2024, the permanent standard represents a manageable update challenge — not a crisis.
Here is why: the core requirements of the permanent standard will be consistent with SB-553. The same fundamental elements — written site-specific plan, Violent Incident Log, training, hazard assessment, annual review — form the foundation. The permanent standard will likely add specificity, expand some definitions, and may add new requirements, but it is unlikely to require organizations to discard their existing programs and start over.
The organizations for which the permanent standard will be most disruptive are those that:
- Have not yet built a compliant SB-553 program
- Built a template-based plan that is not genuinely site-specific
- Have no documented training records or hazard assessments
- Have Violent Incident Logs that don't capture non-injury incidents
For those organizations, the permanent standard adds a second compliance deadline to a first compliance deadline they may not have adequately met.
Why Does Early, Substantive Compliance Pay Off?
Organizations that built real programs in response to SB-553 — not template compliance, but genuine site-specific programs with documented training, functioning Violent Incident Logs, and named responsible parties — are positioned to manage the permanent standard as a program update.
The practical steps for those organizations:
Monitor the rulemaking. The Standards Board will issue a final draft regulation before adoption. Tracking that publication and understanding what inspectors currently evaluate is the starting point for understanding what updates your program will need.
Document that your existing program meets the current requirements. The annual review process your program already has should be producing documentation of compliance with the current law. That documentation is the baseline from which you assess compliance with the permanent standard.
Identify the likely gap areas.Based on the current rulemaking trajectory, the definitions of workplace violence and workplace violence hazards, and potentially trauma counseling, are the most likely areas where the permanent standard will expand current requirements. Organizations can begin assessing their current program's approach to these areas now.
Plan for the update.The permanent standard adoption deadline of December 31, 2026, and the anticipated publication of a final rule sometime in 2026, means organizations should plan for a program update in 2026. Organizations on an annual compliance retainer will have that update managed as part of their ongoing program.
What If You Have Not Yet Built a Program?
If your organization has not yet built a substantive SB-553-compliant program, the approaching permanent standard deadline is additional urgency on top of the existing compliance obligation.
You are not just behind on SB-553 compliance. You are building toward a permanent standard that will be more specific and — as enforcement matures — more strictly enforced than the current interim requirements. Every month of delay is a month of compliance exposure and a month less of runway before the permanent standard requires everything to be current.
Kestralis Group monitors Cal/OSHA rulemaking and updates client programs as the permanent standard develops. Organizations on our annual compliance retainer will have the permanent standard transition managed as part of their program. Contact us to discuss where your organization stands.
