Workplace Violence Restraining Orders: Protecting Employees and the Workplace

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI), acts of violence accounted for 740 workplace fatalities in the United States in 2023. More than 60 percent of those (458 total) were homicides. According to the State of California Department of Industrial Relations’ latest data, 57 people died from acts of workplace violence in California in 2021. While these statistics are troubling, they are also unfortunately not unexpected. Workplace violence can come from external sources (e.g., customers, vendors, family members or loved ones of employees) or internally (e.g., current or former employees). While not all acts of violence can be predicted or prevented, sometimes there are factors that may indicate the potential for future misconduct for which employers can seek assistance.

In 2023, California passed Senate Bills 553 and 428, which strengthened workplace protections against violence and, among other things, required employers to establish, implement, maintain, and train employees on a Workplace Violence Prevention Plan beginning July 1, 2024. More information regarding the Department of Industrial Relations’ ongoing development of workplace violence prevention regulations, which must be submitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board (OSHSB) by December 31, 2025 and adopted by OSHSB by December 31, 2026, can be found here.

Even before the passage of these bills, however, California provided options for employers to protect their workplace, including the ability to obtain court orders providing protection to one or more employees against violence or threats of violence.  Specifically, California law authorized employers to seek a temporary restraining order and an injunction on behalf of employees who suffered violence or a credible threat of violence that could reasonably be construed to be carried out, or to actually have been carried out, at the workplace. To obtain this relief, employers were required to show reasonable proof that an employee suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence and that great or irreparable harm would result if the order were not issued.

Senate Bills 428 and 553 expanded upon these provisions by providing (among other things) that, effective January 1, 2025, employers can also seek a temporary restraining order and an injunction on behalf of employees who suffer specified harassment. “Harassment” in this context is defined as “a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses the person, and that serves no legitimate purpose. The course of conduct must be that which would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and must actually cause substantial emotional distress.” To obtain relief, employers must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence that the employee suffered harassment, that great or irreparable harm will result, and that the course of conduct by the person against whom the relief is sought served no legitimate purpose. Before doing so, employers must provide the employee whose protection is sought the opportunity to decline to be named in the order.

In all instances, there are protections for constitutionally-protected and other legally-protected speech and other activities.

When seeking relief, it is important that employers gather all evidence that will be needed for both the moving papers and the evidentiary hearing—including witness statements and potential witness testimony, pictures, video (including surveillance video before it is overwritten), emails/text message/social media messages and other communications, and audio recordings (e.g., voice messages)—and that employers do so in a timely manner. Too much delay may demonstrate to a court that the threat is not imminent and that extraordinary relief is not necessary.

Although it is recommended to consult with legal counsel when filing these petitions and attending the hearings, the Judicial Council of California has a useful Self-Help Guide for employers, designed to help them understand who can ask for relief and which procedures to follow to obtain that relief. The guide also includes links to each of the forms that must be filed and served.

While no employer wants to be in a position where they need to seek this relief, and other preventative safety and security measures should be employed to mitigate this risk before it arises, it is important that employers are aware of these procedures so they can take action when needed.

This legal update and any use of its information does not create an attorney-client relationship. Nothing contained on this website should be considered legal advice for any specific employer or employment situation. Consult legal counsel before taking any action as a result of information contained herein.