SB 2567

THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2567
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII
H.D. 2
C.D. 1
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:
���� SECTION 1.� The legislature finds that state law
currently allows a person to obtain a temporary restraining order and an
injunction against harassment.� The
legislature further finds that there is a need to extend these protections to allow
employers to protect employees against employment‑related harassment.� 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 in the
course and scope of their work.
���� The legislature also finds that numerous
studies and reports confirm this trend in
the public sector.� 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.
���� The legislature additionally finds
that 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.
���� The legislature further finds that 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.
���� The legislature further 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 received by the State's judges has increased twentyfold since
2012.
���� The legislature notes that 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.� 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.
���� Under existing state law, there is
no mechanism for state entities to secure a temporary restraining order and
permanent injunction on behalf of a harassed public employee.� The legislature finds that a system for retaining
private attorneys on behalf of the harassed public employee is the only proper
mechanism for providing legal representation with respect to state
employers.� The attorney general is the
chief legal officer for the State and by representing clients in a personal
capacity as plaintiffs in civil suits, irrespective of the merits of those
suits, the attorney general could create potential conflicts of interest and
unforeseen consequences.
���� Accordingly, the purpose of this Act
is to establish a two‑year pilot project to expand protections against
employment‑related harassment by allowing public employers to secure a
temporary restraining order and an injunction on behalf of a harassed employee
under specified circumstances.
���� SECTION 2.� Section
604-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
���� "�604-10.5� Power to enjoin and
temporarily restrain harassment.�
(a)� For the purposes of this
section:
���� "Course of conduct" means
a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over any period of time
evidencing a continuity of purpose.
���� "Harassment" means:
���� (1)� Physical harm,
bodily injury, assault, or the threat of imminent physical harm, bodily injury,
or assault; or
���� (2)� 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]] the course of conduct
would cause a reasonable person to suffer emotional distress.
���� "Public employer" means:
���� (1)� The State or
any of its political subdivisions;
���� (2)� A federal
agency;
���� (3)� The United
States courts; or
���� (4)� A public or
quasi-public corporation, or any public agency thereof or therein,
and any agent thereof.
���� "Public servant" means:
���� (1)� Any officer or
employee of the executive branch, including the governor, the lieutenant
governor, the administrative director appointed pursuant to section 26-3,
and any volunteer of the office of elections;
���� (2)� Any member of
the legislature and any officer or employee of the legislative branch;
���� (3)� Any official or
employee of the judicial branch, including the administrative director of the
courts, the deputy administrative director of the courts, and any active,
formerly active, or retired:
��������� (A)� Justice
of the Hawaii supreme court;
��������� (B)� Judge
of the Hawaii intermediate appellate court;
��������� (C)� Judge
of a Hawaii circuit court or circuit family court;
��������� (D)� Judge
of a Hawaii district court or district family court; or
��������� (E)� Per
diem judge of a Hawaii district court or district family court;
���� (4)� Any officer or
employee of any political subdivision of the State; or
���� (5)� Any active,
formerly active, or retired:
��������� (A)� Justice
of the United States Supreme Court;
��������� (B)� Judge
of the United States Court of Appeals;
��������� (C)� Judge
or magistrate judge of the United States District Court; or
��������� (D)� Judge
of the United States Bankruptcy Court, who resides in the State,
��������� formerly
resided in the State while serving as a federal judge, or owns real property in
the State.
���� "Public servant of the
State" means a public servant as defined in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3)
of the definition of "public servant".� "Public servant of the State" does
not include other individuals not expressly provided for in this definition.
���� (b)�
The district courts shall have the power to enjoin, prohibit, or
temporarily restrain harassment.
���� (c)�
Any person who has been subjected to harassment,
or the 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:
���� (1)� The petitioner resides or is
temporarily located;
���� (2)� The respondent resides; or
���� (3)� The harassment occurred.
���� (d)�
A petition for relief from harassment shall [[be]]:
���� (1)� Be in
writing [[and shall allege]];
���� (2)� 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]]
���� (3)� Be
accompanied by an affidavit made under oath or a statement made under
penalty of perjury stating the specific facts and circumstances for which
relief is sought.
���� (e)�
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.
���� 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.
���� 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.�
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.
���� (f)�
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.� 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.
���� (g)�
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.� A hearing on the petition to enjoin
harassment shall be held within fifteen days after the temporary restraining
order is granted.� 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.
���� The parties named in the petition
may file or give oral responses explaining, excusing, justifying, or denying
the alleged act or acts of harassment.�
The court shall receive all evidence that is relevant at the hearing and
may make independent inquiry.
���� 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]] not 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]] not
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.
���� Any order issued under this section
shall be served upon the respondent.� 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.
���� 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).
���� 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.
���� (h)�
The court may grant the prevailing party in an action brought under this
section costs and fees, including attorney's fees.
���� (i)�
A knowing or intentional violation of a restraining order or injunction
issued pursuant to this section [[is]] shall be a misdemeanor.� The court shall sentence a violator to
appropriate counseling and shall sentence a person convicted under this section
as follows:
���� (1)� 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
���� (2)� 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.
���� The court may suspend any jail
sentence, except for the mandatory sentences under paragraphs (1) and (2), upon
appropriate conditions, [[such as]] including that the defendant
remain alcohol- and drug-free, remain conviction-free, or complete court‑ordered
assessments or counseling.� 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.� Nothing in this
section shall be construed [[as limiting]] to limit the discretion
of the judge to impose additional sanctions authorized in sentencing for a
misdemeanor offense.
���� (j)�
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit constitutionally
protected activity.
���� (k)� A petition filed by the public employer of a
public servant under this section shall identify the petitioner as the
respective branch of government, department, or agency; provided that the state
judiciary shall be identified as the administrative director of the courts.
���� (l)� Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, subject to the availability of funds appropriated for this purpose,
the department of the attorney general shall establish a system by which a
public employer of a public servant of the State may retain a private attorney
to provide representation to the public employer to pursue an action under this
section on behalf of a public servant of the State; provided that under no
circumstance shall a public employer of a public servant of the State be
permitted to retain a private attorney under this subsection if the person to
be restrained is in the same branch of government.� Under no circumstances shall the attorney
general, the first deputy attorney general, the special assistant to the
attorney general, or any deputy attorney general provide representation to a
public employer or a public servant under this section.
���� (m)� Notwithstanding subsection (l), staff
attorneys for the judiciary may represent a public servant of the State
employed by the judiciary.� The judiciary
may utilize its own funds to retain a private attorney to represent a public
servant of the State employed by the judiciary.
���� (n)� The authorization for a public employer to
petition for relief under this section on behalf of a public servant shall be
discretionary.� Nothing in this section
shall be construed to:
���� (1)� Create a duty
for a public employer to petition for relief on behalf of a public servant;
���� (2)� Authorize a
private right of action, whether in law or in equity, against the State or a
public employer, including the administrative director of the courts or any
public official, whether in an official or individual capacity, relating to or
arising out of the filing of a petition for relief or a decision to decline to
petition for relief under this section, and no court shall have subject matter
jurisdiction to consider any claims relating to the same; or
���� (3)� Authorize a
private right of action, whether in law or in equity, against the State, the
department of the attorney general, or any officer or employee of the
department of the attorney general, whether in an official or individual
capacity, relating to or arising out of subsection (l), and no court shall have
subject matter jurisdiction to consider any claims relating to the same."
���� SECTION 3.� Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.� New statutory
material is underscored.
���� SECTION 4.� This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026;
provided that this Act shall be repealed on June 30, 2028, and section
604-10.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall be reenacted in the form in which it
read on the day prior to the effective date of this Act.
Report Title:
Judiciary
Package; Public Employers; Public Servants; Harassment; Temporary Restraining
Orders; Injunctions; Pilot Project
Description:
Establishes
a two-year pilot project to authorize public employers to petition for
temporary restraining orders and injunctions against employment-related
harassment of certain public employees.�
Sunsets 6/30/2028.� (CD1)
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.