Senator introduces workplace-violence protective order bill; shelters and public safety officials back measure

Senator Matt Klayman introduced Senate Bill 49 to the Senate State Affairs Committee on March 13, proposing a new workplace violence protective order that would let employers petition courts to restrict individuals who threaten violence at a workplace.

Supporters including shelter operators and the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault told the committee the tool would protect staff and clients at shelter programs, and Commissioner Jim Cockrell of the Alaska Department of Public Safety said his department supports the bill and enforcement of protective orders.

Nut graf: SB 49 would create a statutory path for employers — including nonprofits that run shelters and other programs — to seek protective orders when someone commits or credibly threatens violence that may be carried out at the workplace. Testimony from shelters recounted incidents where perpetrators came to or loitered near shelter facilities and threats escalated; committee members raised questions about whether employees, customers, or nonemployee residents would be covered and about the bill’s civil-liability language.

“People sometimes come right across the street and sit in the parking lot looking directly at us,” Brenda Stanfill, executive director of the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, said, recounting threats programs have received. Stanfill told senators these programs frequently serve many people statewide — “we helped 7,536 unduplicated people last year” — and that shelter staff and residents have faced persistent harassment related to those services.

Sponsor Senator Matt Klayman said the bill is modeled on protections in several other states and is intended to provide employers an accessible, less-costly alternative to filing a civil lawsuit to protect a workplace. Brianna Kekaruk, staff to Senator Klayman, provided a sectional analysis outlining statutory amendments: additions to AS 11.56.740 to include workplace-protective-order violations; amendments to AS 18.65 to add a new article establishing workplace violence protective orders; and conforming changes for judges and magistrates.

Shelter directors described situations where a person threatened a shelter or its residents but the victim declined to file a personal domestic-protection order, or a protective order was not reasonably served. Eileen Arnold, executive director of the Tundra Women’s Coalition in Bethel, described intervening when a perpetrator physically blocked a shelter resident’s exit and later threatened to “shoot her and burn [the] team down.” Those accounts, several senators said, illustrated the need for tools that allow organizations to seek protection for staff and residents when the danger is tied to the workplace.

Committee members asked whether the bill’s definition of “employer” and the civil-liability protection in the draft might unintentionally limit remedies for nonemployee victims or customers harmed by an unprotected workplace. Senator Wilikowski asked whether an employee — rather than the employer — should be able to seek protection if they feel threatened; Senator Klayman said the bill intentionally makes the employer the petitioner to preserve employer control over workplace safety and to align with workers’ compensation structures. The sponsor also agreed to review civil-liability language flagged by the committee.

Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner Jim Cockrell told the committee the department supports the measure and that protective orders, once issued and served, are enforceable by arrest for violations; law enforcement would enter orders into relevant databases to alert officers.

Ending: The committee received invited and public testimony and set SB 49 aside for additional work and future hearings. Senators asked staff and the sponsor to refine statutory language on definitions and civil-liability before the bill returns to committee.