American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Conference Presentation

Background:

Workplace violence (WPV) is a critical occupational hazard, accounting for 14% of U.S. fatal occupational injuries in 2023. In California, the crisis is more acute, with violent acts comprising 22% of all workplace fatalities. In response, California implemented Senate Bill 553 (SB 553) in July 2024, the nation’s first general-industry WPV prevention standard. While the law mandates employer-written plans and incident logs, the efficacy of these requirements depends on industry-specific implementation and the addressing of structural risk factors like staffing.

Objectives:

This mixed-methods study sought to:

1. Identify implementation gaps in SB 553 across high-risk California industries.
2. Quantitatively evaluate the association between school staffing ratios and violent incidents in the K-12 sector—a high-risk yet under-researched environment.