New California Law Empowers Employers to Seek Restraining Orders for Third Party Harassment, Not Just Violence or Threats, in the Workplace
Introduction Consider the following scenarios: A customer repeatedly enters your company’s workplace, berates your employees, uses profanity, and then leaves. (Let’s call her “Cruella.”) Or perhaps a customer consistently comes in and asks your employees out on dates, tells them about his sexual prowess, won’t take no for an answer, and refuses to leave the premises when asked. (Let’s call him “Ken.”) This conduct hasn’t y et involved stalking, assault, battery, violence or threats of violence, but it is still alarming, annoying, and harassing to your employees, causing them distress and impeding their work. Even though California requires employers to take proactive steps to protect employees from harassing behavior, prior to Jan. 1, 2025, you may have been out of luck; unless and until the behavior escalated to stalking, assault, threats of violence or actual violence, you might lack a sufficient legal basis to restrain Cruella and Ken from entering your workplace. Fortu...