A statewide workplace violence prevention law, SB 553, became law in California in July 2024 with more states likely to follow this year. The newly introduced SB 553 presents employers with more than just new compliance requirements — it provides an opportunity to rethink how we protect our people and adopt a more innovative, holistic approach to employee safety.
Traditionally, workplace violence prevention efforts have focused exclusively on physical safety. But the impacts of workplace violence go far beyond bodily harm. In fact, almost one quarter (24%) of non-fatal workplace violence victims experience moderate social or emotional problems and 15% experience severe problems as a result of the violence inflicted on them.
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When businesses integrate employee benefits from mental health support to employee assistance programs (EAPs) into their workplace safety strategies, they can create environments that both prevent harm and actively promote wellbeing, connection, and a culture of care.
The intersection of compliance and culture is often overlooked, but this is where real impact happens. It’s time to move beyond the checklist and build workplace protections that value the whole person — because safety isn’t just physical, it’s emotional and social, too.
Related: Employees struggling with stress, instability in the workplace
How to integrate employee benefits into your Workplace Violence Prevention Plan
As your business brings its Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) in compliance with SB 553, focus on how to incorporate employee benefits into these key areas to create a more connected, supportive, and human-centered approach to safety:
- Embed messaging about mental health support, EAP access, and wellbeing resources directly into your Workplace Violence Prevention Policy’s language, reinforcing that safety includes emotional health.
- Ensure the individuals designated to oversee WVPP compliance work together with HR and Benefits teams to align safety measures with emotional wellness efforts and create a unified approach to employee protection.
- Expand your Comprehensive Risk Assessment to include psychological safety, stress factors, and burnout risks, informed by data from benefits programs and employee feedback surveys.
- Enhance the effectiveness of prevention strategies with resilience training, mental health first aid, and communication workshops to strengthen and support employees.
- Cross-reference incident data with absenteeism trends, disability claims, and EAP utilization to uncover upstream indicators of stress or inter-team conflicts to identify violent incident patterns and areas for improvement.
- Reinforce that EAP and mental health services are safe, judgment-free resources for employees needing support when facing workplace tensions or distress through the incident reporting process.
- Integrate wellbeing topics such as emotional regulation, mental health awareness, and peer-to-peer support systems into your violence prevention trainings.
- Conduct WVPP reviews in conjunction with benefits program evaluations to comprehensively address evolving employee health and safety needs.
- Include wellness partners in your collaborative efforts with external resources to support prevention strategies, provide employee education, and offer crisis response resources when needed.
Go beyond compliance to protect your people and strengthen your culture
When employers don’t wait for a crisis to promote employee wellbeing and supportive resources, they foster an environment where people feel safe to show up, speak up, and thrive.
SB 553 sets the foundation for workplace safety, but the true leadership opportunity lies in using this framework as a catalyst to build a workplace culture rooted in physical safety, emotional security, and genuine care. Compliance alone protects your business. But culture protects your people — and that’s what drives long-term success.
Alison Myers is President of Corporate Benefits & Specialty Health at Venbrook Group, LLC, one of the fastest growing, independently owned insurance brokerage, claims, and risk management consulting companies in the U.S.
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