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Sacramento Snapshot: Effort to protect workers from harassment advances

April 3, 2023

Editor’s note: Sacramento Snapshot is a weekly series during the legislative session detailing what Orange County’s representatives in the Assembly and Senate are working on — from committee work to bill passages and more.

An effort to help employers ensure protections for workers who are being harassed while on the job advanced in the legislature last week.

Employers, if this bill were to pass, would be able to seek temporary restraining orders on behalf of their employees who are being harassed by members of the public while at work, which can cause severe emotional distress and disrupt work productivity, said Sen. Catherine Blakespear, the bill’s author who represents parts of southern Orange County, including Mission Viejo.

Without the threat or act of violence, employers are unable to do so now, Blakespear said, and instead, it’s incumbent on the employee to seek protection they feel is needed, which can require a lot of money, legal expertise, time and emotional resources.

Sen. Catherine Blakespear (Photo courtesy of Catherine Blakespear’s campaign)

“The problem we’re trying to solve for is that we don’t want to have to reach the point of unlawful violence or a threat of violence before intervening,” Blakespear said.

An example, Blakespear said, is an instance when a person repeatedly contacted Carlsbad city employees about his lack of housing, but the workers did not have the ability to provide what he requested. The person called and emailed the employees multiple times a day, shouting expletives and leaving recordings of employees he obtained without consent over the course of a year, according to information provided by the city.

Ultimately, the city said, the conduct escalated to a credible threat of violence, and a workplace violence restraining order was obtained.

As legislative work continues, the bill is expected to clarify that an employer must show a court “clear and convincing evidence” that the harassment incident serves “no legitimate purpose” and that a restraining order would not infringe on protected speech or activities. As it stands right now, the bill does not exclude any professions from these expanded protections.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gave initial approval to the bill — with no votes in opposition — making it Blakespear’s first to go to a committee and come out. It now heads to the Senate floor.

Trading a travel ban for outreach

Sen. Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat who serves as president of the Senate, floated a new proposal last week that would lift California’s state travel ban to states with discriminatory laws targeted at LGBTQ+ people.

California prohibits state-funded and sponsored travel to 23 states, nearly half the country, and that has had the unintended consequence of isolating further LGBTQ+ people in those places, Atkins said. Her legislation would lift the ban and implement a donation-driven fund to create an advertising campaign to encourage inclusion and acceptance.

“At a time when LGBTQ+ rights and protections are being rescinded, and the very words we use are being weaponized, putting understanding and kindness at the forefront is more important than ever,” Atkins, who is a lesbian, said in a statement, recounting how she did not feel she would be accepted while growing up in rural Virginia. “The goal here is to speak to people’s hearts and open minds.”

Atkins’ bill was introduced last week, as the California Legislature and the country celebrated “Transgender Day of Visibility,” an effort meant to support transgender people and rights.

Meanwhile, other states are considering bills that would roll back protections for LGBTQ+ people or are considered to cause harm; the ACLU is tracking 435 bills across the country this year considered to be anti-LGBTQ+.

In other news

• An effort to reduce California’s sales tax by 1% for one year was introduced by Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, last week. The idea, she said, is to provide immediate relief for Californians feeling the burden of higher prices and inflation. It’s been sent to the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.

• Sen. Josh Newman’s bill to require fashion manufacturers to help set up free textile recycling collection sites cleared the Senate Environmental Quality Committee with a vote along party lines. It’s expected to be heard in the Judiciary Committee, chaired by fellow Orange County Sen. Tom Umberg, in April, according to Newman’s office.

• Legislation ensuring financial literacy is taught in K-12 schools initially failed the Senate Education Committee last week, with Newman voting against it and three other senators not voting. However, the bill from Sen. Kelly Seyarto, whose district includes Yorba Linda, was granted “reconsideration,” meaning more work can go on behind the scenes to bring it back up for another vote with a potentially different outcome.

• From Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, is a bill requiring guns recovered from the scene of a domestic violence incident or during service of a domestic violence restraining order to be entered into California’s Automated Firearms System. It gives a victim the ability to request law enforcement remove firearms from a prohibited person, her office said. The bill unanimously cleared the Assembly Judiciary Committee last week, seeing support from Republican Assemblymembers Diane Dixon and Sanchez.

• The legislature is now on spring recess until April 10.

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