California law sparks VTA workplace violence prevention plan

Tragedy and a lack of workplace safety measures led one Silicon Valley lawmaker to call for tighter regulations to protect employees.

Senate Bill 553, state Sen. Dave Cortese’s bill relating to occupational safety and workplace violence, took effect this summer. The bill focuses on preventing violent incidents like the 2021 VTA shooting at the hands of an unstable transit employee. VTA began training employees on its workplace violence prevention plan in mid-July, and about a quarter of the workforce is trained. The new law also allows union leaders to file restraining orders against violent people on behalf of employees. Prior law only gave company management the authority.

“VTA employees at every level of the agency have heightened awareness of the importance of workplace health and safety, and the ongoing efforts being made to ensure VTA is safe for employees and passengers alike,”spokesperson Stacey Hendler Ross told San José Spotlight.

VTA’s plan teaches employees who to contact when reporting workplace violence or threats of violence, and it details the process for how management responds to reports. Management must also keep records of violent incidents and investigations for at least five years and make those records available to employees upon request.

Cortese said his office authored the bill to address workplace violence prevention after Newsom approved his previous bill aiming to create employee wellness centers at transit agencies statewide.

The bill was modeled after a wellness center opened by VTA that provides treatment for employees and families affected by the 2021 shooting.

“There are seven major items that are supposed to be included in the workplace violence prevention plan — and virtually none of those measures had been in place at the VTA ( at the time of the shooting),” Cortese told San José Spotlight. “The VTA wasn’t particularly negligent or anything like that, we’d be saying the same thing had the shooting occurred at any other building, but nobody was doing this kind of prevention work at the time.”

Cortese, who represents a large portion of Santa Clara County including the site of the shooting, described his legislation as perhaps the most contentious bill he’s introduced since being elected in 2020. Misinformation claiming the bill would prevent employees from confronting shoplifters initially scared off some business groups. Cortese removed the shoplifting language to narrow the bill’s scope.

Tammy Dhanota, SEIU 521 chairperson for the VTA chapter and longtime transit agency employee, described the workplace violence prevention plan as a step in the right direction. She said employees really want to see thorough and transparent investigations into acts of violence.

“Workers never want to feel like they don’t have enough information,” Dhanota told San José Spotlight. “So we want them to have that transparency on any incidents of violence against workers, and to ensure justice so future tragedies can be prevented.”

She also praised the new law for allowing union leaders to file restraining orders on behalf of employees, saying that sharing this responsibility with transit officials amid the recent tragedy is strengthening the relationships between labor organizations and VTA.

“It got us to a point where we’re having the right conversations and we’re ensuring that people feel safe,” Dhanota told San José Spotlight.

Hendler Ross said VTA worked with a consultant in collaboration with union leaders for the past two years on “work-streams” to improve communication and respond to requests from employees on health and safety.

“These work-streams have resulted, so far, in supportive outcomes such as improved workplace facilities, increased security initiatives at VTA bus and light rail yards, and more positive working relationships between union leaders and VTA management,” she told San José Spotlight.

Dhanota said she can’t imagine working at VTA without both of Cortese’s bills to address workplace violence.

“In the past, the relationship was more adversarial. Now this opens the doors to all communication, and not just with union leaders, but all members and even workers that are not represented,” she told San José Spotlight. “Everytime I can think of when a worker came to me for help, all they want to know is, ‘What are my options?’ They definitely want to know all their options, and having another venue to do that to ensure their safety, whether emotionally or physically, I think that’s a great thing.”