Need a Workplace Violence Restraining Order? Here's how to get one fast

This part two article of a two-part series explains how employers and unions can move fast to obtain a Workplace Violence Restraining Order once any employee is under threat of violence or statutory harassment by anyone at work. Courts will issue a Temporary Restraining Order the same day a petition is filed, and respondents--even transient or other hard-to-locate offenders--are usually served without much difficulty. What follows is a step-by-step look at how the process works, from filing the initial petition through the evidentiary hearing 21 days later. WVRO's promote a safer retail workplace for the employees, and a more inviting place for customers to shop.

The process starts with a petition (Form WV-100), filed by the employer or union to protect an employee who has suffered unlawful violence, a credible threat of violence, or harassment likely to be carried out in the workplace.

·        Unlawful violence. Any assault, battery or stalking as defined by Penal Code § 646.9. CCP § 527.8(b)(8).

·        A credible threat of violence. Under CCP § 527.8(b)(2), this is a knowing and willful statement or course of conduct that would place a reasonable person in fear for their safety and that serves no legitimate purpose. A "course of conduct" is defined at CCP § 527.8(b)(1) as a pattern of two or more acts showing continuity of purpose--including following or stalking an employee to or from work, entering the workplace, following the employee during work hours, or repeated phone calls or correspondence by mail, interoffice mail, fax or email.

·        Harassment. Under CCP § 527.8(b)(4), harassment is a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person that seriously alarms, annoys or harasses that person and serves no legitimate purpose--it is conduct that would cause a reasonable person substantial emotional distress.

The true names of transient offenders is usually available

The petition must state the offender's true name. If police officers come to the store to deal with them during the incident causing the need for the WVRO, the officer will typically give the store the offender's name if asked. Individuals who cause problems at one store are also usually known to the area or beat officers because they have caused similar problems elsewhere. These officers often can therefore identify an offender from a physical description or store video even if they do not contact the offender at the employer's store. Store employees sometimes have a name or probable address for the offender, and, on occasion, a private investigator can identify them through other means. Social media and online jail records should be used to verify the offender's name when possible.

Employers cannot require employees to participate in WVRO cases

Because the employer or union seeks the WVRO "on behalf of the employee," CCP § 527.8(a), the employee(s) to be protected must be identified in the petition and they will ordinarily testify or be named at the evidentiary hearing. However, the employer or union must give the victim employee "an opportunity to decline to be named" in the TRO--meaning employers cannot require an employee's participation. CCP § 527.8(e). Employers should make clear that employees who decline to participate will face no negative consequences at work. Employees should also be told that the respondent will learn the participating employee's true name once served with the court papers. Employee home addresses and dates of birth are not provided to the court, and they are not disclosed to the respondent. Many employees will decline to participate, but careful investigation often reveals additional victim-employees, some of whom may be willing to participate.

Filing the petition and requesting an immediate TRO ex parte

Fillable forms are available on the Superior Court's self-help website (selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/WV-restraining-order/forms). Every county requires a petition (WV-100), a proposed Notice of Hearing (WV-109), and, when requested, a proposed Temporary Restraining Order (WV-110). These forms are mandatory CCP § 527.8(w)(1). Some counties require local forms to be filed with the petition. A petitioning employer or union must file a supporting declaration to get an immediate TRO. CCP § 527.8(f)(1). Where the petition is based on violence or a credible threat of violence, the declaration must supply some "reasonable proof" that the conduct occurred, and that great or irreparable harm would result absent an order. CCP § 527.8(f)(1)(A). Where the petition is based on harassment alone, the petitioner must instead make its initial showing with clear and convincing evidence. CCP § 527.8(f)(1)(B).

Petitions for WVRO TRO's may and usually are filed ex parte under § 527.8(f). § 527.8(g) directs the court to rule on a requested TRO the same day it is submitted, or the next court day if filed too late for same-day review. There is no filing fee for petitions alleging that the respondent inflicted or threatened violence, stalked the employee, or otherwise placed the employee in reasonable fear of violence. CCP § 527.8(x).

The court will also issue a Notice of Hearing (WV-109), with hearing to be set within 21 days--or 25 days for good cause--of the date when the court rules. CCP § 527.8(i).

Serving transient respondents is usually not difficult

The petitioner ordinarily must cause the respondent to be served personally with the papers identified in the notice five or more days before the hearing. CCP § 527.8(n). If timely personal service is not completed, the petitioner must seek a new hearing date at or before the original hearing date. § 527.8 contains no provision authorizing service by alternative means.

Each county's Sheriff's Civil Process Unit will typically attempt personal service of WVRO papers free of charge when the petitioner supplies a reliable address on Form SER-001. Jail is often the best place to serve violent and transient respondents. Petitioners can check each county's current in-custody roster--for example, San Francisco's (sfsheriff.com/find-person-jail) or San Diego's (apps.sdsheriff.net/wij/)--to see if the respondent is in custody. Otherwise, petitioners may retain registered process servers or investigators. In some cases, on-duty police officers will serve a respondent at the protected workplace if the employer provides a complete set of court papers along with a Proof of Personal Service form (WV-200) for the officer to execute; some officers will serve only the TRO (without the other court papers to be served).

The evidentiary hearing

A respondent is entitled, as a matter of course, to one continuance for a reasonable period to respond to the petition. CCP § 527.8(p). The notice of hearing warns that orders lasting up to three years may be issued in their absence. CCP § 527.8(o). At the hearing, "the judge shall receive any testimony that is relevant and may make an independent inquiry." CCP § 527.8(k). Relevant hearsay is potentially admissible. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals v. Wilson (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 550. The petitioner must prove its case by clear and convincing evidence regardless of whether the respondent appears.

If the petitioner's case is disputed, the court will generally deny relief without substantial corroboration, which can come from such sources as witnesses, text messages, photographs or video. Courts will also usually find corroboration in testimony showing that the victim-employee reported the underlying incident to police and to the employer because a knowingly false report could expose the employee to criminal prosecution and discipline.

Some courts require parties to mediate with court volunteers just before the hearing starts. Many parties on the general restraining order calendar will agree to a "non-CLETS" (for "California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System") private written agreement governing their future conduct towards each other. However, because the power of an Order After Hearing is enforceability by the police, non-CLETS orders are not in the Petitioner's interest generally. The parties can agree in such mediations to a standard CLETS Order After Hearing immediately to be made by the Court without either side offering evidence, or they can report back that the mediation failed and ask that the hearing go forward. If the court enjoins the respondent at the hearing, personal service of the Order After Hearing (WV-130) is not required if the respondent attended the hearing and heard the terms of the OAH. CCP § 527.8(r)(1). If the OAH is identical to the TRO except for duration, the petitioner may serve it by mail to the respondent's most current address on file with the court if the OAH so provides. CCP § 527.8(r)(2). Otherwise, the OAH must be served personally.

WVRO cases are quickly resolved

Unlike general civil litigation, WVRO cases are procedurally simple and quickly resolved. A TRO will be issued within one court day after the Petition is filed, and the final hearing is to be set 21 days later. The only common delay occurs when the petitioner asks for a hearing date continuance to serve the respondent. There is no required responsive pleading, and typical written discovery is not contemplated by the statute because hearings are usually set within 21 days. (Subpoenas are mentioned at CCP § 527.8(x)). Hearings usually last just 10- 20 minutes. However: practitioners should recall that WVRO petitions are potentially subject to "anti-SLAPP" special motions to strike under CCP §425.16, City of Los Angeles v. Animal Defense League (2006) 135 Cal.App.4th 606.

Retail employers and unions should always consider WVRO's

No readily available statewide data show how many WVRO cases are filed in California courts each year. In April 2026, however, Santa Clara County Superior Court began using a distinct "WV" case signifier for WVRO filings, making them separately searchable online (portal.scscourt.org/search). In the 120 days following the April 6, 2026, change, only 22 WVRO cases were filed (26WV000001-26WV000022). Seven were filed by government entities, including schools, and four by private property management companies. Only one of the 22--filed by the undersigned's firm--was brought on behalf of a retailer. No union brought any. These figures are consistent with the undersigned's review of statewide daily restraining order department calendars, and with what other WVRO practitioners and court staff report informally. By contrast, individuals sought 258 Civil Harassment Restraining Orders in the same 120-day period in the same court. (Case Nos. 26CH014332-26CH014590).

Although the undersigned is aware of no law or authority compelling California employers or unions to evaluate or seek WVROs, they are always worth considering. Retail security professionals without law enforcement backgrounds have told the undersigned that retailers who know about this remedy assume that transient offenders cannot be named or served, or that California police and prosecutors will not enforce these orders. Both beliefs are mistaken. WVRO's consistently make retail workplaces safer and more inviting for customers.