Bill
SB 484
NC SB 484 adds civil no-contact orders to stop mass picketing that blocks workplace access or public routes, protecting employees while preserving NLRA rights.
Status & Procedural Notes
- Bill: SB 484 (North Carolina).
- Introduced: February 19, 2025. Passed first reading; Judiciary Committee substitute adopted April 29, 2025.
- Placement: Amends Article 23 of Chapter 95 of the North Carolina General Statutes (Workplace Violence Prevention).
- Effective date: “When it becomes law”; applies to acts or omissions occurring on or after that date.
Purpose
The bill expands North Carolina’s workplace-violence civil remedies to address “mass picketing” and related conduct that obstructs access to workplaces or public thoroughfares. It creates a civil procedure (civil no‑contact order) employers may use (on behalf of employees) to halt obstructive or dangerous picketing and other unlawful conduct at or around places of employment.
Key definitions added or clarified
- Mass picketing: picketing (with or without signs) that creates an obstacle to ingress/egress to the premises or to public roads, including physical obstructions (people, vehicles, other items).
- Obstruction (in later substitute): a sustained/deliberate physical blockage that substantially and materially prevents ingress/egress and causes demonstrable disruption to operations or public safety.
- Place of employment: any building or conveyance, temporary or permanent, mobile or immobile.
Primary substantive provisions
- Unlawful conduct: expanded to include acts such as attempting or threatening physical injury, repeated harassment, and specifically:
- Hindering or preventing lawful work by mass picketing, unlawful threats, or force;
- Obstructing or interfering with entrance/egress to a place of employment by mass picketing;
- Obstructing public roads, streets, railways, airports, or other travel ways by mass picketing.
- Civil no‑contact orders:
- Employers may file a verified complaint in district court on behalf of an employee, or an employer may sue for unlawful conduct committed at the workplace.
- Venue is the county where the unlawful conduct occurred.
- Courts may issue temporary or permanent civil no‑contact orders without requiring a showing of physical injury.
- Available remedies include orders prohibiting visits or interference at the workplace, stalking/harassment, abuse of property, telephone or electronic contact, and other relief the court deems appropriate.
- Orders must carry conspicuous notice that violations may be punishable as contempt of court (fines/imprisonment).
- Permanent orders require notice and an opportunity to respond; no permanent order without such process.
- Process protections:
- Employers must consult affected employees before seeking an injunction; employees cannot be disciplined for unwillingness to participate.
- All actions under the statute are to be processed in open court (not executive session).
- Scope & limits:
- The statute explicitly does not apply to activities that are protected by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) (union organizing, labor disputes, legally protected picketing/demonstrations).
- The bill includes a severability-type clause and a constitutional-protection clause noting nothing in the Article is intended to conflict with federal or state constitutional rights.
Who is affected
- Employers: gain a civil enforcement tool to stop obstructive mass picketing and protect workplace access and operations.
- Employees: may be protected from harassment, obstruction, and threats at the workplace; employers must consult employees before seeking relief.
- Protesters / picketers: those engaging in mass picketing that obstructs ingress/egress, public travel, or causes safety disruption may be subject to civil no‑contact orders; peaceful, NLRA‑protected activity is carved out.
- Courts & law enforcement: increased civil caseload for district courts; enforcement of civil no‑contact orders may involve contempt proceedings.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Practical effect: provides employers a streamlined civil mechanism to address obstructive picketing that materially blocks workplace access or public travel.
- Intersection with free speech and labor law: the bill attempts to preserve constitutional and NLRA protections but could prompt litigation over what conduct is “obstruction” vs. protected protest.
- Enforcement: civil orders (and contempt sanctions) may be used rapidly to restore access; courts will play a central role in balancing access/safety against expressive rights.
For readers seeking the text: SB 484 revises Article 23 (G.S. 95‑260 et seq.) to add the above definitions, causes of action, and remedies; consult the enacted statute for final language and any amendments.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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