SB 553 deadlines and key dates: what California employers need on the calendar

The dates that matter now

The first SB 553 scramble was simple: be ready by July 1, 2024. That deadline has passed. The work now is less dramatic and more operational. Employers need a calendar that keeps the program alive.

Here is the practical version.

That table is the difference between "we did SB 553 last year" and "we can prove the program is still operating."

July 1, 2024: the date that already passed

SB 553 was signed in 2023, but the operative employer duties under Labor Code Section 6401.9 started July 1, 2024. Cal/OSHA has said the law is enforceable.

So if a vendor, template, or manager is still talking as if SB 553 is "coming soon," retire that language. The written plan, training, violent incident log, hazard identification and correction process, investigation records, employee access process, and annual review are not future items.

The only future milestone is the formal standard due by the end of 2026. That does not pause the Labor Code duties already in force.

Annual training

Training is not a launch event. Employees need training when the plan is first established and annually thereafter.

A clean annual training record includes:

• The training date.
• The contents or a summary of the training.
• The names and qualifications of the people conducting the training.
• The names and job titles of everyone attending.

The easiest schedule is to pick one annual training month and treat new hires separately. If your business has seasonal spikes, do not wait for the annual class to train people who start mid-year. A restaurant hiring for summer, a retailer hiring for holiday, or a venue staffing a busy season needs people trained before the hazard shows up.

Triggered training

Additional training is required when a new or previously unrecognized workplace violence hazard is identified or when the plan changes. The additional training may be limited to the new hazard or change.

That matters because the trigger can be ordinary:

• A new closing procedure.
• A new lone-worker shift.
• A new customer access pattern.
• A violent incident.
• A parking lot lighting issue.
• A new panic button, camera, or reporting process.
• A new hazard found during employee feedback or inspection.

The practical rule: if the way employees should prevent, report, or respond to workplace violence changed, make sure the affected employees are trained and the training record exists.

Annual plan review

The WVPP must be reviewed for effectiveness at least annually. It also has to be reviewed when a deficiency is observed or becomes apparent and after a workplace violence incident.

Do not make the annual review a ceremonial signature page. Review the things that tell you whether the plan works:

• Incident log patterns.
• Employee reports and concerns.
• Hazard inspections.
• Corrective actions that stayed open too long.
• Training attendance gaps.
• New work areas, hours, public access, or staffing patterns.
• Feedback from employees and authorized employee representatives.

Write down who participated, what was reviewed, what changed, and what did not change. "No changes needed" is more credible when it follows a real review.

The 15-calendar-day record request clock

Employees and their representatives can request specific SB 553 records. The covered 15-day bucket is:

1. Records of workplace violence hazard identification, evaluation, and correction.
2. Training records.
3. Violent incident logs.

Those records must be made available for examination and copying within 15 calendar days of the request, at no cost. Calendar days means weekends count.

The written WVPP is different. It must be available and easily accessible to employees, authorized employee representatives, and Cal/OSHA representatives at all times.

The safest operating routine is same-day intake:

• Date-stamp the request.
• Identify the requester and scope.
• Calculate the 15-calendar-day deadline.
• Pull the records.
• Review the violent incident log for personal identifying information.
• Provide the records at no cost.
• Save a copy of what was produced.

If you wait until day 13 to start looking, the deadline is no longer your biggest problem. The real problem is that the records were not under control.

Retention deadlines

SB 553 records have different retention periods.

Keep the records long enough and organized enough to answer a real request. A five-year retention rule is not useful if year three lives in a manager's personal drive and nobody can find it.

The 2026 standard

Labor Code Section 6401.9 requires the Division to propose standards and the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board to adopt workplace violence prevention standards no later than December 31, 2026.

As of June 18, 2026, Cal/OSHA has posted a revised draft standard dated April 23, 2026 and advisory-meeting materials for the general industry workplace violence prevention standard. That rulemaking matters, but it should not be confused with the current duty to comply with Section 6401.9.

For employers, the practical move is:

• Run the current Labor Code program now.
• Watch the draft-standard process.
• Expect to review the WVPP when the final standard lands.
• Keep records clean enough that revisions are an update, not a rescue mission.

Calendar setup

Put these reminders in a shared calendar or compliance system:

• Annual WVPP review: set a recurring review date, plus a task to capture employee involvement.
• Annual training: set the main training window and a separate new-hire process.
• Hazard inspection cycle: match the schedule promised in the plan.
• Incident follow-up: log, investigate, evaluate hazards, correct hazards, and review the plan after the event.
• Record request clock: track the received date, due date, reviewer, and production date.
• Retention review: make sure training records, logs, hazard records, and investigation records are archived before staff turnover eats the trail.
• 2026 standard watch: check the final rulemaking before year-end and schedule a plan update once the standard is adopted.

SB 553 compliance is not hard because the calendar is mysterious. It is hard because the calendar is easy to ignore until someone asks for proof.

Sources

Frequently asked questions