Diablo DAS CE Course - 2CE

Date: September 17, 2026
Sign-in: 6:45 pm
Time: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Live CE virtually via Zoom
Topic: Workplace Violence Protection: Cal/OSHA
Speaker: Matt Palmer, Cal/OSHA Enforcement Investigator, BS, MS
Registration Fees:

• Members: $20
• Student members: $0 (no CE will be given)
• Non-Members: $35
• Student non-members: $5 (no CE will be given)

Deadline to register: September 15, 2026 at 10pm
Confirmation of registration will be sent immediately upon receipt of payment along with a link to register on zoom, which must be done to receive the link for the course on zoom.
No refunds or cancellations.
Questions? Contact Shari Becker @ DiabloDAS@cdaaweb.org

Course Content:
To provide an overview of workplace violence prevention in the dental industry. Identify the four types of workplace violence and prevention strategies for each type. Learn what employeed can contribute to make their workplaces safer. This course will discuss CAL/OSHA’s mandated workplace violence protection act from 2017 to today’s most current version from 2024 that is required for all California workplaces.

Discussion and the course will include:
Reviewing and understanding the law and its importance in the workplace, how to identify potential issues and problems, communication and tips on how to deal with complex issues involving dynamic interactions between people, working with ways to reduce risk, and how to create and implement a safety plan for your workplace.

Educational Objectives:

1. Provide an overview of workplace violence prevention in the dental industry.
2. Identify the four types of workplace violence and prevention
3. Identify and understand prevention strategies for each of the four types of workplace violence
4. Learn what employees can contribute to making their workplace safer.​​​

About the Speaker:
Matt Palmer is a Regional Senior Safety Engineer with the California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA. Matt is in the Enforcement Branch which conducts onsite complaint inspections and occupational accident investigations and joined the Division in 2015. Matt is from the United Kingdom where he worked as an environmental health officer and health protection practitioner and was involved in health and safety enforcement, food safety, infectious disease surveillance and public health response to outbreaks, environmental hazards and chemical spills. He moved his young family to California in 2012 and worked in Sonoma County for the air pollution control district for three years before joining Cal/OSHA. Matt has a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Health and a Master’s Degree in Public Health.

"Our job is really important," says Matt, who helps manage a team of about 30 officers in Region 2. "We are passionate about worker safety and creating safe environments for employees. when things go wrong it's devastating for workers and families. In my experience, most accidents could have been prevented by a little forethought." Matt gets involved in all sorts of investigations and is also the lead for workplace violence in Region 2. "Unfortunately, we get too many cases of workplace violence. I'm appalled that our healthcare workers aren't treated with the utmost respect by the people they serve. However, we have to face reality and plan to protect them. We might never prevent all workplace violence but there's plenty we can do to reduce risk, particularly in healthcare." California led the way with some of the first workplace violence prevention laws in the nation and has had workplace violence prevention in healthcare on the books since 2017. This got expanded to all California workplaces in 2024 and now all employers are required to plan ahead to prevent workplace violence. "It's an innovative law" says Matt. "How do you deal with complex issues involving dynamic interactions between people? Managers alone can't fix this so our rule requires them to obtain the active involvement of employees in making and implementing a plan. Together they can create something meaningful and allow workers to get on with providing the quality health care their patients need."