Short answer: take it at face value and write it down today — what was said or done, when, where, by whom, and who witnessed it. Under SB 553, a threat that a reasonable person would take as intent to cause harm or fear of harm counts as workplace violence; no punch has to be thrown. Then answer one question: could this person reach your workplace? That decides everything else.
The specific words or behavior, date, time, place, source, witnesses, and how it was reported to you. Preserve texts, voicemails, DMs, and social posts now — screenshots with timestamps. Vague notes ("made a threat") age badly; exact quotes hold up.
Does the person still have access to the workplace, the schedule, or the employee? A documented risk assessment, even a paragraph, is the difference between "we took it seriously" and "we hoped it would blow over."
Threats at the workplace or aimed at someone working belong in the log — date, time, location, type (a customer is Type 2, a coworker Type 3, a personal relationship Type 4), what happened, and your response. No names or personal identifying information in the log.
Schedule changes, a heads-up to front-desk or security staff with a description (not a personnel file), walking employees to cars, locking a side door. Small, documented steps that match the risk.
California lets employers seek a workplace violence restraining order on an employee's behalf — and since January 2025, collective bargaining representatives can too. A temporary order can be in place quickly; the court forms are linked below, and an employment attorney can move fast on this.
Talk to the people involved, decide what the plan requires, and tell the reporting employee what you did — as much as confidentiality allows. Silence reads as inaction.
No discipline, no schedule cuts, no cold shoulder — for reporting or cooperating. Retaliation is its own violation and frequently becomes the bigger legal problem.
Domestic or personal threat that could reach work? If it arrives at the workplace — the person shows up, or targets the employee at work — it becomes "Type 4" workplace violence under SB 553. Before that point it may not belong in the incident log, but it absolutely belongs in your prevention work. Handle it with discretion: document, adjust access and schedules, alert only the staff who need to know, and consider the restraining order. The employee's off-work life stays private; the workplace's safety response gets documented.
The California courts' forms employers use to protect an employee.
Including the definition of a covered threat — broader than most people expect.
The law itself, if you want the source text.