Existing law permits an employer or an employee’s collective bargaining representative to seek a workplace violence restraining order when an employee has suffered harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence. A court may also extend protection to other employees at the workplace, but the existing procedure generally contemplates an identifiable employee who has been targeted.
AB 1961 expands existing authority when a threat is directed at a workplace or work location rather than one directed at a particular employee. An employer may seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of all employees at the workplace, or at a location where a group of employees performs its primary job duties, when harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence is directed at that location. The employer does not need to identify individual employees as protected parties when seeking this type of order. The Judicial Council must adopt or modify the necessary forms by January 1, 2028.
Employers facing threats directed at an office, facility, department, or other worksite may now seek broader protective relief without identifying every affected employee. Employers should consider the expanded remedy when updating workplace violence prevention and threat-response procedures.
AB 1961 amends section 527.8 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
