Workplace Violence Prevention Training — California (SB 553)
When it comes to surviving a violent situation, who teaches you matters. This course is led by Robb Milheim — a Green Beret who spent 20 years in the U.S. Army between the 75th Ranger Regiment and Special Forces, served multiple combat tours, and trained U.S. and allied forces around the globe. Robb ran the Special Forces Assessment & Selection course — the gateway for America's most elite soldiers — where he was featured as an instructor in the Discovery Channel documentary Two Weeks in Hell. After the Army, he spent more than a decade as a federal civilian specializing in security programs across the Department of Defense. When it comes to recognizing threats, staying calm under pressure, and responding to danger, there is simply no better-qualified instructor — and that's who teaches your people in this course.
Robb co-teaches alongside Melinda Milheim, an instructor who is a Certified Mediator with a law degree — and both credentials matter here. As a Certified Mediator, she's trained to facilitate difficult conversations and keep a room at ease, so a heavy subject is handled with care and every participant feels welcome, comfortable, and safe to engage. And her law degree means the training isn't just powerful — it's precise: fully compliant with SB 553 and grounded in exactly what the law requires. The result is a course most providers can't offer: real-world expertise that could one day save a life, delivered with the skill to make hard material approachable and the legal rigor to keep your organization compliant.
This course provides California's required workplace violence prevention training for employers who must comply with SB 553 — which is nearly every employer in the state. If your organization has 10 or more employees, or is open to the public, you likely need this training every year. As of July 1, 2024, SB 553 (California Labor Code § 6401.9) requires covered California employers to protect their workforce from workplace violence, and this course delivers the employee training the law mandates under Cal/OSHA.
What is covered in this course: You’ll cover what counts as workplace violence under California law — threats and physical force, incidents involving weapons, and the four recognized types of violence categorized by the perpetrator's relationship to the workplace — along with how to recognize warning signs, how to report threats and incidents, and how to respond safely when violence occurs. The training is designed to address the workplace violence hazards employees may actually encounter in their jobs and at their specific work location, as SB 553 requires.
The course also walks through your organization's Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) — what it contains, how employees fit into it, and how to use the procedures it establishes — so the plan on paper becomes something your people actually understand and follow.
Compliance Requirements
SB 553 requires more than training — it requires a written plan, training, and recordkeeping. Here's what your organization needs:
Covered California employers: SB 553 applies to nearly all California employers. You must maintain a written, site-specific Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP), train your employees annually (this course), and keep a Violent Incident Log and required records. (Limited exemptions exist — including locations with fewer than 10 employees that aren't open to the public, teleworkers, and healthcare/law-enforcement settings already covered by other standards.)
Need help building your plan? SB 553's written WVPP is a separate, site-specific document the law requires before training. Ask us about plan-development support — or find our resources in our course catalog.
Best for: California employers and their employees and supervisors — this course meets the annual workplace violence prevention training requirement under SB 553 (Labor Code § 6401.9), which applies to nearly all California employers.
Format: One hour of interactive, instructor-led group training, provided annually. In person or virtual. (Length can be tailored to your organization's plan and risk profile.)
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.
Related California requirement: California also requires most employers to provide sexual harassment prevention training under SB 1343 — a separate civil-rights requirement, distinct from this workplace-safety course. You'll find our class, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training — California, in our course catalog, or reach out with any questions.
When it comes to surviving a violent situation, who teaches you matters. This course is led by Robb Milheim — a Green Beret who spent 20 years in the U.S. Army between the 75th Ranger Regiment and Special Forces, served multiple combat tours, and trained U.S. and allied forces around the globe. Robb ran the Special Forces Assessment & Selection course — the gateway for America's most elite soldiers — where he was featured as an instructor in the Discovery Channel documentary Two Weeks in Hell. After the Army, he spent more than a decade as a federal civilian specializing in security programs across the Department of Defense. When it comes to recognizing threats, staying calm under pressure, and responding to danger, there is simply no better-qualified instructor — and that's who teaches your people in this course.
Robb co-teaches alongside Melinda Milheim, an instructor who is a Certified Mediator with a law degree — and both credentials matter here. As a Certified Mediator, she's trained to facilitate difficult conversations and keep a room at ease, so a heavy subject is handled with care and every participant feels welcome, comfortable, and safe to engage. And her law degree means the training isn't just powerful — it's precise: fully compliant with SB 553 and grounded in exactly what the law requires. The result is a course most providers can't offer: real-world expertise that could one day save a life, delivered with the skill to make hard material approachable and the legal rigor to keep your organization compliant.
This course provides California's required workplace violence prevention training for employers who must comply with SB 553 — which is nearly every employer in the state. If your organization has 10 or more employees, or is open to the public, you likely need this training every year. As of July 1, 2024, SB 553 (California Labor Code § 6401.9) requires covered California employers to protect their workforce from workplace violence, and this course delivers the employee training the law mandates under Cal/OSHA.
What is covered in this course: You’ll cover what counts as workplace violence under California law — threats and physical force, incidents involving weapons, and the four recognized types of violence categorized by the perpetrator's relationship to the workplace — along with how to recognize warning signs, how to report threats and incidents, and how to respond safely when violence occurs. The training is designed to address the workplace violence hazards employees may actually encounter in their jobs and at their specific work location, as SB 553 requires.
The course also walks through your organization's Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP) — what it contains, how employees fit into it, and how to use the procedures it establishes — so the plan on paper becomes something your people actually understand and follow.
Compliance Requirements
SB 553 requires more than training — it requires a written plan, training, and recordkeeping. Here's what your organization needs:
Covered California employers: SB 553 applies to nearly all California employers. You must maintain a written, site-specific Workplace Violence Prevention Plan (WVPP), train your employees annually (this course), and keep a Violent Incident Log and required records. (Limited exemptions exist — including locations with fewer than 10 employees that aren't open to the public, teleworkers, and healthcare/law-enforcement settings already covered by other standards.)
Need help building your plan? SB 553's written WVPP is a separate, site-specific document the law requires before training. Ask us about plan-development support — or find our resources in our course catalog.
Best for: California employers and their employees and supervisors — this course meets the annual workplace violence prevention training requirement under SB 553 (Labor Code § 6401.9), which applies to nearly all California employers.
Format: One hour of interactive, instructor-led group training, provided annually. In person or virtual. (Length can be tailored to your organization's plan and risk profile.)
Pricing is set per engagement. Contact Phoenix Canyon to request a quote.
Related California requirement: California also requires most employers to provide sexual harassment prevention training under SB 1343 — a separate civil-rights requirement, distinct from this workplace-safety course. You'll find our class, Sexual Harassment Prevention Training — California, in our course catalog, or reach out with any questions.