UCI launched a new campuswide Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP) to improve safety in workspaces on July 1. The launch follows the passing of California Senate Bill 553 in September 2023, which requires the implementation of workplace violence reporting systems and additional training and safety measures for California employees.
UCI employees will now be required to log all incidents of workplace violence — defined as “any act of violence or threat of violence against an employee that occurs at the worksite” according to the California Division of Occupational Health and Safety (Cal/OSHA) on the UCI WVPP site — and provide details of the incident using the WVPP online reporting tool.
This log is intended to keep a record of all violent events to facilitate analysis of the workplace for potential areas of improvement. California Labor Code Section 6401.9 states that these records are to be kept and maintained for a minimum of five years.
In line with SB 553, certain violent incident logs will also require a detailed description of the incident to be made available to employees and their representatives, omitting personal identification.
As part of the WVPP, UCI employees will undergo annual mandatory training that will teach workers how to recognize and report workplace violence without “fear of retaliation,” as outlined by UCI Division of Finance and Administration Chief Financial Officer Mary Lou Ortiz in a campuswide email on July 1. The training will also address ways to access support services. The implementation of the program will involve specific measures for corresponding work areas while adding to existing measures regarding “emergencies, evacuation plans, post-incident response and investigation procedures,” according to the WVPP page.
SB 553 defines four types of workplace violence, excluding lawful acts of self-defense or defense of others:
“Type 1 violence” is committed by a person who does not have a valid reason to be present at the workplace, including anyone who advances toward employees with criminal intent.
“Type 2 violence” is violence in the workplace committed by some sort of consumer, such as customers, clients, patients or students.
“Type 3 violence” occurs when violence is committed by a current or former employee towards a current employee.
“Type 4 violence” is violence committed in the workplace by a non-employee who has any sort of personal relationship with an employee of the workplace.
To guarantee the effectiveness and relevance of the WVPP, the UCI WVPP campus administrator will review all incident reports with their categorization in mind and evaluate their need for escalation. Logged incidents and correctional measures will be assessed in the analysis. Additionally, representatives from the UCI Police Department, Environmental Health and Safety, Behavioral Intervention Team and related departments will be involved in the review as outlined in Appendix B of the UCI Injury and Illness Prevention Program.
According to the program plan, necessary improvements to the program will be added upon yearly review, along with corresponding training sessions provided to tackle any new procedures.
Inga Chilingaryan is a News Intern for the summer 2024 quarter. She can be reached at chilingi@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.
