Wednesday, October 28, 2026
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TotalSource - WFN (State Alerts)
Key Takeaways
Impacted Employers: All California employers
Effective Date: January 1, 2027
Summary: California has enacted legislation that authorizes an employer to seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of all employees at a workplace if harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence is directed at the workplace, rather than at a specific employee. The employer isn’t required to identify a specific employee in the petition.
Next Steps: Employers should review workplace violence prevention policies, incident-reporting procedures, and documentation practices to ensure they address threats directed at the workplace or a group of employees.
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The Details
Background
Current California law authorizes an employer or a collective bargaining representative to seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of an employee who has suffered harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence that can reasonably be construed to be carried out at the workplace.
What’s Changing on January 1, 2027?
Effective January 1, 2027, if harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence is directed at an employer’s workplace or a location where a group of employees perform their primary job duties, rather than at any specific employee, the employer may, without naming a specific employee in the petition, seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of all employees at a workplace or location.
Next Steps
Employers should review workplace violence prevention policies, incident-reporting procedures, and documentation practices to ensure they address threats directed at the workplace or a group of employees. Employers should also train appropriate personnel on the expanded restraining order protections and consult legal counsel when evaluating whether to seek a workplace violence restraining order under the new law.