ACSA Sponsored AB 1961 Expands Protections Under California's Workplace Violence Restraining Order Law to Include Threats Directed at the Workplace

10.20.2026

On September 30, 2026, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (“AB”) 1961 into law, significantly expanding the scope of California’s Workplace Violence Restraining Order (“WVRO”) statute under Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8. The legislation becomes operative on July 1, 2027. Prior to AB 1961, employers generally could obtain a WVRO only when threats, harassment, or credible threats of violence were directed at an employee. AB 1961, which was sponsored by the Association of California School Administrators (“ACSA”), broadens that authority by permitting employers to seek a WVRO based on threats, harassment, or violence directed at the workplace itself.

Under prior law, employers could face difficulty obtaining a WVRO when threatening conduct was directed at a workplace, facility, department, or workforce generally, rather than at a specifically identifiable employee. AB 1961 addresses this by expressly authorizing employers to seek relief when threats, harassment, or violence are directed at the workplace itself.

Significantly, the new law provides that employers are not required to identify or name an individual employee as a protected party when seeking protection for an entire workplace. Effectively July 1, 2026, California Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8(e)(2) will state:

For purposes of this section, an employer may seek a temporary restraining order and an order after hearing on behalf of a reasonably identifiable group or class of employees if a credible threat of violence is directed at the employer’s workplace or at the employer’s employees generally. If an employer seeks relief under this section on behalf of a group or a class of employees, the employer shall not be required to name any individual employee as a protected party.

As a result, employers may be able to obtain court ordered protection in situations involving:

Threats directed at a school campus, district office, college campus, government facility, or other worksite generally;
Threatening communications targeting employees as a collective group;
Threats made against a public-facing facility, program, or service location; and
Situations where identifying a specific employee victim may be impractical, impossible, or unnecessary because the threat is aimed at the workplace itself.

Why It Matters for School Districts

AB 1961’s amendment to California Code of Civil Procedure section 527.8 is particularly significant for public school districts and other public employers, which bear responsibility for maintaining safe environments for teachers, administrators, classified employees, and other personnel. The expansion is especially relevant as school districts, community college districts, and other public employers increasingly encounter generalized threats communicated through social media, email, anonymous online forums, text messages, and similar channels. Even when such threats do not identify a specific employee, they can create substantial safety concerns and disrupt operations across an entire worksite or public-facing facility.

School districts should consider reviewing their existing workplace violence prevention plans and procedures in light of AB 1961. AB 1961 does not replace existing school safety procedures or independently establish a new school-specific safety mandate. It provides an additional legal mechanism for employers to consider when responding to qualifying workplace threats.

Should you have any questions regarding AB 1961 or workplace violence restraining orders generally, please contact the authors of this Alert or your regular AALRR counsel.