RELATING TO PETITIONS TO TEMPORARILY RESTRAIN AND ENJOIN HARASSMENT OF AN EMPLOYEE.

HB2091

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2091

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING
TO petitions to temporarily restrain and enjoin harassment of an employee
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1.
�
State law currently allows a person
to obtain a temporary restraining order and injunction against harassment.
�
The legislature finds that there is a need to
extend these protections to allow employers to protect employees against employment-related
harassment.

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In recent
times, employees in the public and private sectors across the country have
experienced an alarming increase in harassment, acts of violence, or threats to
engage in acts of violence.

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In the
public sector, numerous studies and reports confirm this trend.
�
For example, a 2021 study titled "On the
Frontlines of Today's Cities:
�
Trauma,
Challenges and Solutions" by the National League of Cities found that
eighty-one per cent of local public officials surveyed said they had
experienced harassment, threats, or violence in recent years.
�
In addition to having their safety and well-being
threatened, the report found that harassment and violent behavior interrupted
local officials' ability to do their jobs and led to the loss of institutional
knowledge due to resignations.

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In 2024,
the National League of Cities conducted a survey as an update to the earlier
2021 report, polling mayors, city council members, and city managers about
their personal experiences of harassment as part of their work.
�
Seventy-three per cent of surveyed mayors,
city council members, and city managers reported personally experiencing
harassment as part of their work.
�
Of
those who experienced harassment, eighty-nine per cent experienced harassment
on social media and eighty-four per cent experienced harassment during public
city meetings.
�
Twenty-three per cent of
respondents reported harassment of their family or loved ones.

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Other
public servants, including state legislators and judges, have experienced
increasing threats or attacks.
�
In a
series of national surveys completed in October 2023, the Brennan Center for
Justice, based on data sets representing more than one thousand seven hundred
officials from all fifty states, found that more than forty per cent of state
legislators experienced threats or attacks within the past three years, and
eighty-nine per cent of state legislators experienced insults or harassment,
including stalking.

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The
legislature also finds that data gathered by the federal and state courts
illustrates that the trend of threats and inappropriate communications against
public officials is increasing.
�
United
States Marshals Service data from 2025 shows one hundred sixty-two federal
judges were threatened in March and early April 2025.
�
At the state level, the number of threats and
other inappropriate communications to Hawaii judges has increased tenfold since
2012.

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Allowing
an employer to seek an order of protection in favor of employees to enjoin employment-related
harassment has been a feature of California law for some time.

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In the
1990s, California enacted a law to allow an employer to obtain a protective
order on behalf of an employee.
�
The law
is presently codified in section 527.8 of the California Code of Civil
Procedure.
�
In the decades since this law
was enacted, employers in California, including government entities, have
obtained restraining orders to prohibit a person from harassing their
employees.

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A few
examples from California applying this law illustrate the type of threats made
against employees and how the law has been utilized to restrain the threatening
conduct.

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First, the
Administrative Office of the Courts of the State of California successfully
petitioned the court for a protective order when a party in a family court
matter, on the day he learned a decision was unfavorable to him, made repeated
threats to kill the judicial official who had rendered the decision.
�
Admin. Office of Courts v. Valdez
, No.
A127094, 2010 WL 5264573, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 27, 2010).

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Second,
the County of Los Angeles obtained restraining orders on behalf of five
employees, all women, to protect them from a member of the public who stalked
and threatened to commit sexual violence against them.
�
Cnty. of Los Angeles v. Herman
, No.
B333177, 2024 WL 4997864, at *1 (Cal. Ct. App. Dec. 4, 2024).

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In a third
example, the Board of Trustees of California State University obtained
restraining orders on behalf of three employees to protect them from a
terminated employee who had purchased firearms and ammunition and who had made
threats to kill them or other violent statements.
�
Bd. of Trustees of California State Univ.
v. D.S.
, No. C100001, 2025 WL 2449509, at *6 (Cal. Ct. App. Aug. 26, 2025).

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The
legislature further finds that a temporary restraining order or injunction
provides additional protection to the harassed employee.
�
For example, under section 134-7(f), Hawaii
Revised Statutes, a person under a restraining order is required to relinquish
possession and control of any firearm and ammunition owned by that person to
the police department.
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This surrendering
of a lawfully registered firearm and ammunition by a restrained person is a
policy that the legislature finds should be expanded.

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Accordingly,
the purpose of this Act is to expand protections against employment-related
harassment by allowing public employers to secure a temporary restraining order
and permanent injunction on behalf of a harassed employee.

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SECTION
2
.
�
Section 604-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended to read as follows:

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"
�604-10.5
�

Power to enjoin and temporarily restrain harassment.
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(a)
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For the purposes of this section:

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"Course of conduct" means
a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over any period of time
evidencing a continuity of purpose.

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"Harassment" means:

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(1)
�
Physical harm,
bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury,
or assault; or

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(2)
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An intentional or
knowing course of conduct directed at an individual that seriously alarms or
disturbs consistently or continually bothers the individual and serves no
legitimate purpose; provided that such course of conduct would cause a
reasonable person to suffer emotional distress.

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"Public
employer" means:

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(1)
�
The State or any of its political
subdivisions;

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(2)
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A federal agency;

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(3)
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The United States courts; or

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(4)
�
A public or quasi-public corporation, or
any public agency thereof or therein,

and any agent thereof.

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"Public
servant" means:

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(
1)
�
The governor;

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(2)
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The lieutenant governor;

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(3)
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The administrative director appointed
pursuant to section 26-3;

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(4)
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Any head of a department established under
section 26‑4;

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(5)
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Any member of the legislature;

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(6)
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Any active, formerly active, or retired:

���������
(A)
�
Justice of the Hawaii supreme court;

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(B)
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Judge
of the Hawaii intermediate appellate court;

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(C)
�
Judge of a Hawaii circuit court or circuit
family court;

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(D)
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Judge of a Hawaii district court or
district family court; or

���������
(E)
�
Per diem judge of a Hawaii district court
or district family court;

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(7)
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Any active, formerly active, or retired:

���������
(A)
�
Justice of the United States Supreme Court;

���������
(B)
�
Judge of the United States Court of
Appeals;

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(C)
�
Judge or magistrate judge of the United
States District Court; or

���������
(D)
�
Judge of the United States Bankruptcy
Court,

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who
resides in the State, formerly resided in the State while serving as a federal
judge, or owns real property in the State;

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(8)
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The administrative director of the courts;

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(9)
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The deputy administrative director of the
courts;

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(10)
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Any employee or volunteer of the office of
elections; or

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(11)
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Any person designated for good cause by the
governor, president of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives,
administrative director of the courts, chief judge of the United States
District Court for the District of Hawaii, or chairperson of the office of
Hawaiian affairs in the designator's respective body.

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(b)
�

The district courts shall have the power to enjoin, prohibit, or
temporarily restrain harassment.

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(c)
�

Any person who has been subjected to harassment
,
or any public employer of a public servant who has been subjected to harassment
related to their employment as a public servant,
may petition the district
court for a temporary restraining order and an injunction from further
harassment in the district in which:

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(1)
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The petitioner resides or is
temporarily located;

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(2)
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The respondent resides; or

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(3)
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The harassment occurred.

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(d)
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A petition for relief from harassment shall be in writing and shall
allege that a past act or acts of harassment may have occurred or that threats
of harassment make it probable that acts of harassment may be imminent; and
shall be accompanied by an affidavit made under oath or statement made under
penalty of perjury stating the specific facts and circumstances for which
relief is sought.

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(e)
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Upon petition to a district court under this section, the court may
allow a petition, complaint, motion, or other document to be filed identifying
the petitioner as "jane doe" or "john doe"; provided that
the court finds that the "jane doe" or "john doe" filing is
reasonably necessary to protect the privacy of the petitioner and will not
unduly prejudice the prosecution or the defense of the action.

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In considering a petition requesting
a "jane doe" or "john doe" filing, the court shall weigh
the petitioner's interest in privacy against the public interest in disclosure.

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The court, only after finding clear
and convincing evidence that would make public inspection inconsistent with the
purpose of this section, may seal from the public all documents or portions of
documents, including all subsequently filed documents, that would identify the
petitioner or contain sufficient information from which the petitioner's
identity could be discerned or inferred.
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Access to identifying information may be permitted to law enforcement or
other authorized authority, in the course of conducting official business, to
effectuate service, enforcement, or prosecution, or as ordered by the courts.

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(f)
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Upon petition to a district court under this section, the court may
temporarily restrain the person or persons named in the petition from harassing
the petitioner
or the public servant on whose behalf the petition is filed

upon a determination that there is probable cause to believe that a past act or
acts of harassment have occurred or that a threat or threats of harassment may
be imminent.
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The court may issue an ex
parte temporary restraining order either in writing or orally; provided that
oral orders shall be reduced to writing by the close of the next court day
following oral issuance.

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(g)
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A temporary restraining order that is granted under this section shall
remain in effect at the discretion of the court for a period not to exceed
ninety days from the date the order is granted, including, in the case where a
temporary restraining order restrains any party from harassing a minor, for a
period extending to a date after the minor has reached eighteen years of
age.
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A hearing on the petition to enjoin
harassment shall be held within fifteen days after the temporary restraining
order is granted.
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If service of the
temporary restraining order has not been effected before the date of the
hearing on the petition to enjoin, the court may set a new date for the
hearing; provided that the new date shall not exceed ninety days from the date
the temporary restraining order was granted.

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The parties named in the petition
may file or give oral responses explaining, excusing, justifying, or denying
the alleged act or acts of harassment.
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The court shall receive all evidence that is relevant at the hearing and
may make independent inquiry.

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If the court finds by clear and
convincing evidence that harassment as defined in paragraph (1) of that
definition exists, it may enjoin for no more than three years further
harassment of the petitioner[
,
]
or the public servant on whose behalf
the petition is filed,
or that harassment as defined in paragraph (2) of
that definition exists, it shall enjoin for no more than three years further
harassment of the petitioner[
,
]
or the public servant on whose behalf
the petition is filed,
including, in the case where any party is enjoined
from harassing a minor, for a period extending to a date after the minor has
reached eighteen years of age; provided that this subsection shall not prohibit
the court from issuing other injunctions against the named parties even if the
time to which the injunction applies exceeds a total of three years.

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Any order issued under this section
shall be served upon the respondent.
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For
the purposes of this section, "served" means actual personal service,
service by certified mail, or proof that the respondent was present at the
hearing at which the court orally issued the injunction.

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Where service of a restraining order
or injunction has been made or where the respondent is deemed to have received
notice of a restraining order or injunction order, any knowing or intentional
violation of the restraining order or injunction order shall subject the
respondent to the provisions in subsection (i).

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Any order issued shall be
transmitted to the chief of police of the county in which the order is issued
by way of regular mail, facsimile transmission, or other similar means of
transmission.

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(h)
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The court may grant the prevailing party in an action brought under this
section costs and fees, including attorney's fees.

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(i)
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A knowing or intentional violation of a restraining order or injunction
issued pursuant to this section is a misdemeanor.
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The court shall sentence a violator to
appropriate counseling and shall sentence a person convicted under this section
as follows:

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(1)
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For a violation of
an injunction or restraining order that occurs after a conviction for a
violation of the same injunction or restraining order, the person shall be
sentenced to a mandatory minimum jail sentence of not less than forty-eight
hours; and

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(2)
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For any subsequent
violation that occurs after a second conviction for violation of the same
injunction or restraining order, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory
minimum jail sentence of not less than thirty days.

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The court may suspend any jail
sentence, except for the mandatory sentences under paragraphs (1) and (2), upon
appropriate conditions, such as that the defendant remain alcohol- and
drug-free, conviction-free, or complete court‑ordered assessments or
counseling.
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The court may suspend the
mandatory sentences under paragraphs (1) and (2) where the violation of the
injunction or restraining order does not involve violence or the threat of violence.
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Nothing in this section shall be construed as
limiting the discretion of the judge to impose additional sanctions authorized
in sentencing for a misdemeanor offense.

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(j)
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Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit constitutionally
protected activity.

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(k)
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A petition under this section filed by a
public employer of a public servant shall identify the "Petitioner"
as the respective branch of government or department; provided that the state
judiciary shall be identified as the "Administrative Director of the
Courts".

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(l)
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The authorization for a public employer to
petition for relief under this section on behalf of a public servant is
discretionary.
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Nothing in this section
shall be construed to:

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(1)
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Create a duty for a public employer to
petition for relief on behalf of a public servant; or

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(2)
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Authorize a private right of action against
a public employer that declines to petition for relief under this section.
"

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SECTION
3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory
material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

By Request

Report Title:

Judiciary
Package; Public Employers; Public Servants; Harassment; Temporary Restraining
Orders; Injunctions

Description:

Authorizes
public employers to petition for temporary restraining orders and injunctions
against employment-related harassment of certain public employees.

The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.