Violence, a threat of violence, or serious harassment can quickly become a workplace safety problem. It may involve a customer who fixates on an employee, a former employee making threats, a coworker, or someone whose conduct follows an employee to the jobsite.
If you are the employee being harassed at the workplace, the restraining order designed for this situation is usually not one you file yourself. An employer, or in limited situations a qualifying collective-bargaining representative, files it on the employee’s behalf. If you are an employer the workplace violence restraining order under California Civil Code of Procedure section 527.8 can be an important safety tool but the decision to file is not automatic. The facts must satisfy the statutory requirements for obtaining a workplace violence restraining order. If you are the respondent who faces a workplace violence restraining order, this is a fast-moving civil case.
Workplace Violence Restraining Orders: The Short Answer
Section 527.8 allows an employer or qualifying collective-bargaining representative to seek a temporary restraining order and an order after hearing on behalf of an employee who has suffered harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence. The conduct must reasonably be construed as having been carried out, or capable of being carried out, at the workplace.
The employer or qualifying representative is the petitioner. The employee is the protected person. The respondent may be a coworker, former employee, customer, stranger, or another individual. For this statute, an employee can also include a volunteer or independent contractor performing services at the employer’s worksite. At the final hearing, the petitioner must prove the case by clear and convincing evidence. A final order can last up to three years and may be renewed.
A temporary or final order can impose no-contact and stay-away terms, be transmitted to law enforcement for CLETS entry, and trigger California firearm and ammunition restrictions. Intentional disobedience of the workplace violence restraining order can have criminal consequences. The order cannot prohibit constitutionally protected speech or protected labor activity.
A Short History Of Workplace Violence Restraining Orders
The workplace violence restraining order under Section 527.8 was enacted in 1994, after workplace violence had become a major public concern. The civil harassment statute, section 527.6, gave an individual a way to seek protection but it did not give an employer standing to seek an order for an employee.
Section 527.8 filled that perceived gap. It allows an employer to seek protection without requiring a frightened employee to personally bring and litigate the case. Workplace threats can endanger more than one person, and an employer can often bear the cost and burden of litigation that an individual employee cannot.
How A Workplace Violence Order Works: Grounds, Procedure & Scope
The grounds. There are three possible grounds for obtaining a workplace violence restraining order: workplace-related unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or harassment. Unlawful violence includes assault, battery, stalking prohibited by Penal Code section 646.9, and a violation of Penal Code section 243.3. It does not include lawful self-defense or defense of others. A credible threat must be knowing and willful, create reasonable fear for a person’s safety or the safety of an immediate family member, and serve no legitimate purpose.
Harassment is a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys, or harasses that person. It must serve no legitimate purpose, be conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress, and actually cause substantial emotional distress. All three grounds require a connection to the workplace connection.
The temporary order. The petitioner files a request supported by declarations and may seek temporary orders. For unlawful violence or a credible threat, a temporary order may issue upon reasonable proof of the conduct and a showing that great or irreparable harm would result. For a harassment-only request, the petitioner must instead present clear and convincing evidence that the employee suffered harassment, great or irreparable harm would result, the conduct served no legitimate purpose, and the requested order is not barred by the statute’s speech and labor protections.
The hearing. The court generally sets the hearing within 21 days, or within 25 days for good cause. The respondent ordinarily must be personally served at least five days before the hearing, although the court may shorten that time for good cause. The respondent is entitled to one reasonable continuance as a matter of course. At the hearing, the judge receives relevant testimony and may consider relevant hearsay, although the judge decides what weight it deserves (Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Wilson) (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 550).
Final order and scope. At the hearing, the petitioner must prove the statutory grounds for issuing a workplace violence restraining order by clear and convincing evidence. The court also looks forward as issuance of a final order requires a reasonable probability that qualifying conduct will continue. That can include continued harassment as a future threat of physical violence is not required. A final order may last up to three years and may be renewed for another period of up to three years without proof of new misconduct. It may include tailored no-contact and stay-away terms, protect other employees at the workplace or other worksites, and protect named family or household members.
What Makes A Workplace Violence Restraining Order Different
Several features distinguish a workplace violence restraining order from a civil harassment restraining order.
The petitioner is not necessarily the protected person. An employer or qualifying collective- bargaining representative brings the case. The employee is usually the protected person and an important witness but is not the individual petitioner.
The employee has a limited choice about temporary protection. An employee cannot personally file a section 527.8 petition in the employee’s own name. Depending on the relationship and facts, the employee may seek a civil harassment restraining order or another appropriate protective order. Before filing, the employer or collective-bargaining representative must give the affected employee an opportunity to decline to be named in the requested temporary restraining order. That decision does not prevent the petitioner from seeking protection for other employees.
The speech and labor limitation. A court cannot use section 527.8 to prohibit speech or activity protected by the federal or state Constitutions, labor law, Code of Civil Procedure section 527.3, or another law. Protected labor activity alone is not enough to support an order. However, a labor setting does not immunize actual violence, unprotected threats, or unprotected harassment.
Attorney fees differ. In a civil harassment case, the court may award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party. Section 527.8 has no comparable express prevailing-party fee provision. Filing-fee rules can also differ depending on whether the petition alleges violence, threats, or stalking.
Employment disputes can be relevant context. A firing does not prove a restraining-order case, and an angry reaction to a firing does not automatically make someone a credible threat. The court must decide whether the statutory elements and workplace connection have been proved. If the respondent is still employed by the employer seeking the order, the judge must receive evidence about the employer’s decision to retain, terminate, or otherwise discipline that person.
The Comparison Table: Civil Harassment (527.6) Vs. Workplace Violence (527.8)
| Feature | Civil Harassment (527.6) | Workplace Violence (527.8) |
|---|---|---|
| Who Files | A person who has suffered harassment | An employer or qualifying collective-bargaining representative |
| Protected Person(s) | The petitioner; on good cause, named family or household members | The employee; potentially other employees and, on good cause, named family or household members |
| Grounds | Unlawful violence, credible threat, or qualifying course- of-conduct harassment | Workplace-related unlawful violence, credible threat, or qualifying harassment |
| Workplace Connection | Not required | Required for all three grounds |
| Temporary-Order Showing | Reasonable proof of harassment and great or irreparable harm | Violence or threat: reasonable proof and great or irreparable harm. Harassment: clear and convincing evidence of statutory elements |
| Final Hearing Standard | Clear and convincing evidence | Clear and convincing evidence; the court also considers future risk |
| Maximum Duration | Up to 5 years; renewable for up to 5 additional years | Up to 3 years; renewable for up to 3 additional years |
| Prevailing-Party Fees | Court may award costs and attorney fees to the prevailing party | No express section 527.8 prevailing-party fee provision |
| Hearsay at Hearing | Relevant hearsay may be considered; the court decides its weight | Relevant hearsay may be considered; the court decides its weight |
| Speech and Labor Limits | Constitutionally protected activity is excluded from a course of conduct | Order cannot prohibit protected speech or protected labor activity |
Workplace Violence Prevention Plans & Section 527.8
Since July 1, 2024, most California employers have been required to establish, implement, and maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan. The plan generally includes training, reporting and response procedures, incident logs, investigations, and steps to identify and correct workplace-violence hazards. Some employers and workplaces are exempt or covered by separate rules.
A workplace violence restraining order can be one part of a broader safety response, but it is not mandatory. A prevention plan and a section 527.8 petition are different tools as the plan addresses workplace safety generally. A petition is available only when the statutory facts support it and section 527.8 does not expand, reduce, or change an employer’s preexisting safety duty.
Important Limits & Practical Concerns
Workplace violence restraining orders serve a real purpose. They can protect employees from stalkers, threatening customers, former employees, and other people whose conduct creates a genuine workplace danger. They also allow an employer to act without forcing the targeted employee to litigate alone.
At the same time, the petitioner and the protected employee may not always have identical interests. The employer or qualifying representative decides whether to file, what relief to request, and how to litigate the case.
Ordinary workplace conflict is not enough. A difficult termination, criticism, an argument, or an unpleasant email does not automatically establish harassment, a credible threat, or unlawful violence. The court must apply the statutory definitions and decide whether future qualifying conduct is reasonably likely. Sometime, however, this restraining order gets filed when it should not.
Protected speech remains protected. A court can restrain unlawful conduct, but it cannot use a workplace violence order as a broad way to silence protected speech, criticism, picketing, or organizing. Any speech restriction must be tailored to the conduct the court has found unlawful.
A recent California appellate decision. In Adelanto Elementary School District v. Krause (July 6, 2026, D086337), the Court of Appeal held that continued harassment can support a workplace violence order even without a future threat of physical violence. It also held that a general separation release did not waive the employer’s statutory right to seek an order, struck an overbroad speech restriction, and limited the order to the three-year statutory maximum.
Frequently Asked Questions About Workplace Violence Restraining Orders
Who Can File A Workplace Violence Restraining Order?
An employer may file on behalf of an employee. A collective-bargaining representative may also file, but only when it represents that employee in employment or labor matters at that workplace. An employee seeking an order in the employee’s own name may need to use a civil harassment restraining order or another appropriate procedure.
What Must The Petitioner Prove And By What Standard?
At the final hearing, the petitioner must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent engaged in workplace-related harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence. The court also considers whether future qualifying conduct is reasonably likely. Relevant hearsay may be considered, but the judge decides how much weight it deserves.
How Long Does The Order Last And What Does It Do?
A final order can last up to three years and may be renewed. It can include no-contact and stay- away terms and protect other employees. It is transmitted through California’s law-enforcement and CLETS process. A temporary or final order also triggers California firearm and ammunition restrictions, and an intentional violation of the order can be prosecuted.
Can These Orders Be Used Against Strikes, Pickets, Or Protests?
Not simply because the conduct involves a strike, picket, protest, or other protected workplace activity. Section 527.8 cannot prohibit speech or activity protected by constitutional or labor law. But a labor dispute does not prevent a court from addressing actual violence, unprotected threats, or unprotected harassment when the statutory requirements are proved.
Does A Separation Agreement Prevent A Petition?
Not necessarily. In Adelanto Elementary School District v. Krause, the court held that a general separation release did not waive an employer’s statutory right to seek an order on behalf of employees.
Can My Employer File One About Me Without My Consent?
The employer or qualifying representative decides whether to file. Before filing, it must give the affected employee a chance to decline to be named in a requested temporary restraining order. That does not bar protection for other employees.
I Was Fired And Then Served With One Of These. What Should I Do?
Treat it as a serious, fast-moving civil case. Follow every temporary-order term. Do not contact protected people, directly or indirectly. Preserve texts, emails, video, personnel records, witness information, and other relevant evidence. You are entitled to one reasonable continuance, but do not wait to seek legal advice and prepare for the hearing.
This article provides general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its facts. If your workplace faces a threat or you are named as a respondent, speak with a qualified attorney promptly.