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ARTICLE · 27 OCTOBER 2026

California Expands And Modernizes Workplace Violence Restraining Order Protections

The new laws expand an employer’s ability to obtain workplace violence restraining orders and modernize the process for seeking and obtaining such relief.

United StatesAccounting and Audit

On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed two bills amending California Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8, California’s workplace violence restraining order statute. California currently permits an employer to seek a temporary restraining order and workplace violence restraining order on behalf of an employee or group of employees who have suffered harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence that can reasonably be construed as occurring, or likely to occur, at the workplace. The new laws expand an employer’s ability to obtain workplace violence restraining orders and modernize the process for seeking and obtaining such relief. 

AB 1961, which takes effect January 1, 2027, authorizes employers to seek a workplace violence restraining order on behalf of all employees at the employer’s workplace when harassment, unlawful violence, or a credible threat of violence is directed at that workplace or location. AB 2179, which takes effect January 1, 2028,

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