California Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention (8 CCR 3342)

Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare

Effective since April 2018, California’s Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care regulation (8 CCR 3342) requires healthcare employers to implement a comprehensive, unit-specific Workplace Violence Prevention program. The rule applies broadly across inpatient, outpatient, emergency, and community-based care settings—including hospitals, skilled nursing, behavioral health, home health, EMS, drug treatment programs, and correctional healthcare. 

Healthcare environments face unique safety risks due to patient acuity, behavioral health triggers, visitor interactions, and high-risk service areas. These factors are also well-recognized risk factors for workplace violence in healthcare, including patient aggression in hospitals, healthcare worker assault, and violence against healthcare workers. Section 3342 establishes detailed requirements to protect workers and reduce the risk of violent incidents across all healthcare operations. 

Who Must Comply?

The regulation applies to a wide range of healthcare providers, including: 

• Hospitals (general acute care, psychiatric, and special hospitals) 
• Skilled nursing and intermediate care facilities 
• Behavioral health and drug treatment programs 
• Home health and home-based hospice 
• Emergency medical services (EMS) and medical transport 
• Outpatient medical services delivered to incarcerated individuals 
• Correctional treatment centers and congregate living health facilities 

Adult/senior living or assisted living facilities not licensed as “health facilities” are generally not covered. 

8 CCR 3342 Course Requirements 

California healthcare employers must provide effective, job-specific workplace violence prevention training: 

• At hire or new assignment 
• When new hazards are introduced 
• Annually as part of the WVP Plan review 

Traliant’s CA Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare course was created by legal and compliance experts to satisfy state training obligations for healthcare employers under 8 CCR 3342. Learners interact with a workplace violence prevention guide, who manages a fictional workplace violence prevention hotline. The guide answers calls from the hotline dealing with threats of violence, employees concerned about co-workers exhibiting warning signs of violence, and an employee who needs help de-escalating a situation.

This approach reinforces critical healthcare violence prevention skills, including how to prevent workplace violence in healthcare, improving security in healthcare settings, and reporting violence in healthcare. 
 

Training covers:  

• Workplace violence definition, including what is workplace violence in healthcare and the different forms it can take across clinical and non-clinical settings 

• Types of workplace violence that healthcare workers may encounter, from patient aggression in hospitals to visitor-initiated incidents, co-worker threats, and other behaviors that compromise healthcare staff safety 

• Identifying threats of violence and common hazards contributing to workplace violence in healthcare, supported by real-world healthcare worker violence statistics and examples from high-risk unit  

• De-escalation techniques that help staff manage escalating behaviors, reduce tension, and apply proven violence reduction strategies in healthcare environments 

• Behaviors of concern that may signal escalating risk, including early warning signs that enable timely intervention and assault prevention in healthcare. 

• Reporting procedures that empower employees to document, report, and follow established protocols for reporting violence in healthcare, ensuring incidents are addressed and corrective actions are taken 

By completing Traliant’s CA Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare training, your workforce gains the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to meet California’s 8 CCR 3342 requirements and create a safer, more secure care environment. This comprehensive, scenario-based program helps employees recognize early warning signs, practice effective de-escalation techniques, and follow proper reporting procedures—key elements of a compliant Workplace Violence Prevention Plan. By reinforcing consistent, organization-wide safety practices, the training empowers healthcare staff to prevent violent incidents, protect themselves and their colleagues, and maintain full regulatory compliance while fostering trust, wellbeing, and a culture of safety across every care setting.