- SB 553 (Labor Code §6401.9) has applied to almost all California employers since July 1, 2024 — there is no general small-business exemption.
- Only four exceptions exist: certain small, non-public worksites; employee-chosen telework; healthcare operations already covered by Cal/OSHA's healthcare violence standard; and corrections and law enforcement.
- Any worksite open to the public is covered regardless of headcount — a 3-employee shop has the same obligations as a 300-employee warehouse.
- Covered employers need a written plan, annual training, a violent incident log, and retained records — see the compliance checklist.
The default rule: you're covered
SB 553 added Section 6401.9 to the California Labor Code, and it starts from the broadest possible position: it applies to all employers, all employees, and all places of employment in California. It is not limited by industry, company size, or whether your business has ever had a violent incident. A bakery, an accounting firm, a property management office, and a distribution warehouse all start from the same place: covered.
That makes the analysis simpler than people expect. Instead of asking "does the law reach me?", ask "do I fit one of the four exceptions?" If you don't fit one — completely, not approximately — the law applies, and has since July 1, 2024.
The four exceptions
1. Small worksites that are closed to the public
This is the exception small-business owners most often misread. A place of employment is excluded only when all three of these are true:
- Fewer than 10 employees are working at the site at any given time — not 10 on payroll, 10 physically present at once. If your roster is 8 but a delivery rush puts 11 people on the floor, you don't qualify.
- The site is not accessible to the public. Any customer-facing business — retail, restaurants, salons, gyms, clinics, showrooms — fails this prong immediately, whatever its headcount.
- The employer is in compliance with Cal/OSHA's Injury and Illness Prevention Program (IIPP) regulation (Title 8, §3203). The exception is conditional: a small private office that has let its IIPP lapse loses it.
In practice this exception mostly fits small back-offices, private workshops, and small warehouses that customers never enter. The moment the public can walk in, or a tenth person is working a shift, the full law applies.
2. Employees teleworking from a place they chose
Employees working "from a location of the employee's choice" that is not under the employer's control — for most businesses, that means working from home — are excluded. Two boundaries matter:
- The exclusion follows the employee and the day, not the company. A hybrid employee is excluded on home days and covered on office days. If anyone works at your premises, you still need a plan for that site.
- The location has to be the employee's choice. A satellite office, a co-working space the company rents, or a client site the employer assigns are under employer direction — employees working there are covered.
A fully remote company with no premises where employees work may have no covered place of employment. Most businesses aren't that — they have an office, a shop, or a site, and that site needs a plan.
3. Healthcare operations already covered by the hospital standard
California has had a separate, older workplace violence regulation for healthcare — Title 8, §3342, Violence Prevention in Health Care — since 2017. Facilities and operations that are covered by §3342 and in compliance with it are excluded from SB 553, to avoid double regulation. That standard mainly reaches licensed health facilities (hospitals, skilled nursing), home health and hospice, and emergency medical services.
The trap runs the other way: many standalone dental offices, veterinary clinics, and private practices fall outside §3342's scope — which means they fall inside SB 553. If you run a small practice, don't assume "healthcare" means "exempt"; confirm which standard reaches you with counsel or a safety professional.
4. Corrections and law enforcement
Facilities operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and law enforcement agencies are excluded. This is the least relevant exception for private employers — if you're reading this as a business owner, it almost certainly isn't yours.
The edge cases that trip people up
Multiple locations
Coverage — and the plan itself — is evaluated per place of employment. A company with a public storefront and a private 6-person back office doesn't get to average them: the storefront is covered, and the back office is analyzed on its own facts. The written plan must also be site-specific: the statute requires procedures and hazard assessments tied to each worksite, so a single generic corporate document stretched across five locations doesn't meet the requirement.
Franchises
Obligations follow the employer of record. A franchisee that hires its own staff owns the plan, training, and log for its locations. Franchisor-supplied brand materials can help, but they don't discharge the franchisee's duty — and they're rarely site-specific enough to stand alone.
Contractors, temps, and staffing agencies
The statute counts "employees working at any given time" by presence, not payroll, and it requires plans to address coordination between employers sharing a worksite. If you host temp workers or onsite contractors, they count toward the under-10 threshold, and your plan should spell out how your program covers — or coordinates with — their employer's.
Fluctuating headcount
"Fewer than 10 at any given time" is a ceiling, not an average. Seasonal staff, all-hands days, inventory nights, and overlapping shifts all count. If the number of people in the building ever reaches 10, the exception is gone for that site.
Covered? Then the clock is already running.
SB553Ready builds your site-specific written plan, tracks training, keeps the violent incident log, and exports an audit-ready packet when someone asks — from $59/mo.
If SB 553 applies, here's what it requires
Covered employers must maintain an ongoing program, not a one-time document:
- A written workplace violence prevention plan — site-specific, with named responsible people, reporting procedures, and emergency response procedures.
- Employee training — when the plan is established, annually after that, and again when hazards or the plan change.
- A violent incident log — every incident recorded with the required fields, kept five years. See the field-by-field guide.
- Hazard identification and correction — periodic inspections, documented fixes.
- Annual plan review and record retention — most records kept five years and producible within 15 calendar days of an employee's request.
The full list, with retention periods for each record, is in our SB 553 compliance checklist. For what non-compliance costs, see SB 553 penalties.
Frequently asked questions
Does SB 553 apply to businesses with fewer than 10 employees?
Usually, yes. The small-worksite exception requires all three conditions at once: fewer than 10 employees working at the site at any given time, no public access, and a compliant IIPP. Any business open to customers is covered no matter how few employees it has.
Does SB 553 apply to remote or work-from-home employees?
Employees teleworking from a location of their own choosing that isn't under the employer's control are excluded. Hybrid employees are covered on the days they work somewhere the employer controls, and every employer-controlled site still needs a plan.
Are restaurants and retail stores covered?
Yes. Any worksite accessible to the public is covered regardless of employee count — restaurants, stores, salons, gyms, and similar businesses need the full program.
Are medical and dental offices exempt?
Only if Cal/OSHA's separate healthcare violence standard (Title 8, §3342) already covers them and they comply with it. Many standalone dental and private-practice offices fall outside that standard and are covered by SB 553 instead. Confirm with counsel which standard reaches your practice.
When did SB 553 take effect?
July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA has been able to enforce Labor Code §6401.9 — the written plan, training, log, and records — since that date.
Does SB 553 apply to franchises?
Coverage follows the employer. A franchisee employing its own staff is responsible for its own plan at each location — corporate brand materials don't satisfy it.
This article is general information about California law, not legal advice, and SB553Ready is a software tool, not a law firm. Statutes and enforcement practice change; confirm how SB 553 applies to your facts with qualified counsel or a safety professional. Statute text: Labor Code §6401.9.