While workplace violence cannot be eliminated completely, Hawaii employers should take steps to prevent, reduce, and effectively manage actual and potential violence along with all other health and safety risks in the workplace. In addition to training employees on violence in the workplace and having a workplace violence policy, employers should familiarize themselves with civil law remedies to potential threats of violence.
Temporary Restraining Orders ("TROs") and Injunctions
Hawaii law allows someone to obtain an ex parte temporary restraining order (TRO) against another person or people from the District Court. (“Ex parte” means the order can be issued without notice to the aggressor). To obtain a TRO, the person must file a petition setting forth the reasons he or she is seeking the court's protection. If a TRO is issued, it must be served upon the respondent(s) before it takes legal effect. A hearing is then scheduled and conducted shortly thereafter to determine whether a three-year injunction is warranted. The Court might also require the parties to try to mediate their dispute.
Generally, a restraining order and subsequent injunction, if granted (or agreed to by the respondent), prohibits a respondent from visiting, harassing, or communicating with the complainant, or coming within a specified distance of the complainant or places the complainant frequents, such as the home and workplace. If the complainant goes to work for a different company, the Court order's protections follow the former employee, but they may not protect the workplace any longer. If the former employer wishes to seek a restraining order against someone, it must file a complaint and a motion for such an order in the Hawaii State Circuit Court. The employer must demonstrate that the respondent poses an immediate and direct threat of harm to its employees, vendors, or customers.
A violation of a District Court TRO is considered a misdemeanor, while a violation of an injunction or Circuit Court order can constitute a felony crime. Violations of a restraining order or injunction should be reported to the local police department, which should have been provided a copy of the restraining order or injunction.
Trespass Warning
An employer can also prohibit a person from remaining on or coming onto its premises by issuing a statutory no-trespass warning. Hawaii law provides companies with a "self-help restraining order" process by which they can issue one-year no-trespass notices to keep unwanted persons, including ex-employees and visitors, from entering the company's property. The statute requires the company to provide the unwanted person with notice, which must include a reasonable warning or request to leave the premises.
If the unwanted person remains on or comes onto the company's property after the warning is issued, the police can be called, and the trespasser will be subject to arrest and prosecution for trespass in the second degree. Criminal trespass in the second degree is a misdemeanor, which may subject violators to a maximum of one year in prison.
