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Legal Information: California

Restraining Orders

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Updated: 
January 11, 2024

Workplace Violence Restraining Orders

In California, an employer can file for a workplace violence restraining order to protect an employee from experiencing violence or threats of violence in the workplace. If you are experiencing violence, you may be able to ask that your employer file for a workplace violence restraining order to protect you or you may consider filing for a domestic violence restraining order on your own. If you decide to ask an employer to file for a workplace violence restraining order on your behalf, you may want to speak with a lawyer for legal advice about any possible advantages or disadvantages to doing so. A workplace violence restraining order can also protect your family or household members and other employees at your workplace or any other workplaces of the employer.1

A workplace violence restraining order must be requested by the employer. If you are an employer and you have and employee experiencing violence, you may consider filing for an order to protect your employees.

When requesting a workplace violence restraining order, your employer must show that:

  • you have suffered unlawful violence or a credible threat of violence;
  • the unlawful violence or threat of violence could reasonably be understood (construed) to be carried out or to have been carried out at the workplace; and
  • the abuser’s behavior has no other lawful purpose.

Through a workplace violence restraining order, the judge can order that the abuser not:

  • contact you, any member of your household, or other employees;
  • come near you, your children, your household members, or other employees;
  • come near your work, school, or children’s schools; and
  • have a gun.2

A workplace violence restraining order can be issued for up to three years. You can learn more about workplace violence restraining orders by reading the statute on our website and by visiting the California Courts website.

Note: Although an employee is not eligible to file for this type of order, you may qualify for a different type of restraining order in your state if you are experiencing violence or harassment.

1 California Courts website
2 Cal.C.C.P. § 527.8