Are California businesses ready for new workplace-violence law?
Lucy Straker and Jim Rizzo of Beazley break down the risk management and insurance impact of Senate Bill 553.
Workplace assaults resulted in more than 57,000 injuries in the U.S. between 2021 to 2022, The National Safety Council reports.
Some industries see more workplace violence than others, the NSC says. But workplace violence can happen anywhere.
On top of this, Reuters reports that political violence is more prevalent than any point since the 1970s, and it can bleed over into the workplace.
California’s response to these growing dangers was Senate Bill 553, a workplace-violence
prevention bill, which was signed into law in September 2023. It goes into effect July 1, and applies to most California employers and employees, with the exception of correctional facilities, law enforcement agencies, teleworkers, places of employment with fewer than ten employees working somewhere that is not accessible to the public, and health care facilities.
In this episode of the Insurance Speak podcast, Lucy Straker, U.S. focus group leader, political violence and deadly weapons protection at Beazley, and Jim Rizzo, product leader of U.S. D&O at Beazley, discuss what the new California law means for business, risk management and insurance coverage in The Golden State.
Listen to our full conversation with Straker and Rizzo above, or subscribe to Insurance Speak on Spotify, Apple Music or Libsyn.