GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 484
Short Title: Workplace Violence Prevention/Mass Picketing. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Moffitt, Daniel, and Britt (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S484 -v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT AMENDING WORK PLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION LAWS TO COVER MASS 2
PICKETING. 3
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 4
SECTION 1. Article 23 of Chapter 95 of the General Statutes reads as rewritten: 5
"Article 23. 6
"Workplace Violence Prevention. 7
"§ 95-260. Definitions. 8
The following definitions apply in this Article: 9
(1) Civil no-contact order. – An order granted under this Article, which includes 10
a remedy authorized by G.S. 95-264. 11
(2) Employer. – Any person or entity that employs one or more employees. 12
Employer also includes the State of North Carolina and its political 13
subdivisions. 14
(2a) Mass picketing. – Picketing, with or without signs, that constitutes an obstacle 15
to the ingress and egress to and from the premises being picketed or any other 16
premises, or upon the public roads, streets, highways, or other ways of travel 17
or conveyance, either by obstructing by their persons or by placing of vehicles 18
or other physical obstructions. 19
(2b) Place of employment. – A building or conveyance of any kind, whether the 20
building or conveyance is temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile. 21
(3) Unlawful conduct. – Unlawful conduct means the commission of one or more 22
of the following acts upon an employer or employee, but does not include acts 23
of self-defense or defense of others: 24
a. Attempting to cause bodily injury or intentionally causing bodily 25
injury. 26
b. Willfully, and on more than one occasion, following, being in the 27
presence of, or otherwise harassing, as defined in G.S. 14-277.3A, 28
without legal purpose and with the intent to place the employee or 29
employer in reasonable fear for the employee's or employer's safety. 30
c. Willfully threatening, orally, in writing, or by any other means, to 31
physically injure the employee or employer in a manner and under 32
circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that the 33
threat is likely to be carried out and that actually causes the employee 34
or employer to believe that the threat will be carried out. 35 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 484-First Edition
d. Hindering or preventing, by mass picketing, unlawful threats, or force, 1
the pursuit of any lawful work or employment. 2
e. Obstructing or interfering with the entrance to or egress from any place 3
of employment by mass picketing. 4
f. Obstructing or interfering with free and uninterrupted use of public 5
roads, streets, highways, railways, airports, or other ways of travel or 6
conveyance by mass picketing. 7
"§ 95-261. Civil no-contact orders; persons protected. 8
An action for a civil no-contact order may be filed as a civil action in district court by an 9
employer on behalf of an employee or by an employer who has suffered unlawful conduct from 10
any individual or individuals that can reasonably be construed to be carried out, or to have been 11
carried out, at the employee's workplace. place of employment. The employee or employer that 12
is the subject of unlawful conduct shall be consulted prior to seeking an injunction under this 13
Article in order to determine whether any safety concerns exist in relation to the employee's or 14
employer's participation in the process. Employees or employers who are targets of unlawful 15
conduct who are unwilling to participate in the process under this Article shall not face 16
disciplinary action based on their level of participation or cooperation. 17
"§ 95-262. Commencement of action; venue. 18
(a) An action for a civil no-contact order is commenced by filing a verified complaint for 19
a civil no-contact order in any civil district court the county where the unlawful conduct took 20
place or by filing a motion in any existing civil action. 21
(b) A complaint or motion for a civil no-contact order shall be filed in the county where 22
the unlawful conduct took place. 23
… 24
"§ 95-264. Civil no-contact order; remedy. 25
(a) Upon a finding that the employee or employer has suffered unlawful conduct 26
committed by the respondent, the court may issue a temporary or permanent civil no-contact 27
order. In determining whether or not to issue a civil no-contact order, the court shall not require 28
physical injury to the employee or employer or injury to the employer's property. 29
(b) The court may grant one or more of the following forms of relief in its orders under 30
this Article: 31
(1) Order the respondent not to visit, assault, molest, or otherwise interfere with 32
the employer or the employer's employee at the employer's workplace, or 33
otherwise interfere with the employer's operations. 34
(2) Order the respondent to cease stalking the employer or the employer's 35
employee at the employer's workplace. 36
(3) Order the respondent to cease harassment of the employer or the employer's 37
employee at the employer's workplace. 38
(4) Order the respondent not to abuse or injure the employer, including the 39
employer's property, or the employer's employee at the employer's workplace. 40
(5) Order the respondent not to contact by telephone, written communication, or 41
electronic means the employer or the employer's employee at the employer's 42
workplace. 43
(6) Order other relief deemed necessary and appropriate by the court. 44
(c) A civil no-contact order shall include the following notice, printed in conspicuous 45
type: "A knowing violation of a civil no-contact order shall be punishable as contempt of court 46
which may result in a fine or imprisonment." 47
… 48
"§ 95-266. Permanent civil no-contact order. 49
Upon a finding that the employer or employee has suffered unlawful conduct committed by 50
the respondent, a permanent civil no-contact order may issue if the court additionally finds that 51 General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Senate Bill 484-First Edition Page 3
process was properly served on the respondent, the respondent has answered the complaint and 1
notice of hearing was given, or the respondent is in default. No permanent civil no-contact order 2
shall be issued without notice to the respondent. 3
… 4
"§ 95-271. Scope of Article; other remedies available.available; severability. 5
(a) This Article does not expand, diminish, alter, or modify any duty of any employer to 6
provide a safe workplace for employees and other persons. This Article does not limit the ability 7
of an employer, employee, or victim to pursue any other civil or criminal remedy provided by 8
law. This Article does not apply in circumstances where an employee or representative of 9
employees is engaged in union organizing, union activity, a labor dispute, or any activity or action 10
protected by the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 151, et seq. Nothing in this Article is 11
intended to change the National Labor Relations Act's preemptive regulation of legally protected 12
activities, nor to change the right of the State and its courts to regulate activities not protected by 13
the National Labor Relations Act. 14
(b) Nothing in this Article is intended, or shall be construed, to conflict with, restrict, 15
limit, or infringe upon rights protected by the North Carolina or United States Constitution. 16
(c) If any provision of this Article is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be 17
invalid, void, or unenforceable, in whole or in part, the decision shall not affect the validity, 18
enforceability, or applicability of the remaining provisions of this Article, which shall remain in 19
full force and effect as if the provision held invalid, void, or unenforceable had not been 20
included." 21
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to acts or 22
omissions occurring on or after that date. 23