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Free Speech California

Franczek P.C.

Federal Appellate Court Finds that School Board President Violated First Amendment in Restricting Followers on Social Media

Franczek P.C. on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which governs federal districts in the West/Northwest, recently held that a California school board member violated the First Amendment when blocking users’ ability to access...more

Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs, LLC

Understanding Anti-SLAPP Statutes: Do They Apply in Federal Court?

“SLAPP” is an acronym for Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. The term was coined in the 1980s to describe lawsuits initiated to silence public speech about issues of public importance. Under the original...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Mandatory Captive Rules in Limbo for California Employers – 2 Federal Lawsuits Challenge SB 399 and Looming Issue Before the NLRB

As discussed in our recent article, the introduction of SB 399 in California (approved and added as California Labor Code section 1137) sparked significant discussion and concern among California employers with union...more

Vedder Price

Recent Litigation in California Challenges New Captive Audience Meeting Bill

Vedder Price on

On December 31, 2024, the California Chamber of Commerce and California Restaurant Association (CRA) filed a complaint in federal court seeking to enjoin enforcement of Senate Bill (S.B.) 399, signed into law by Governor...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Business Groups’ Lawsuit Slams California Ban on “Captive Audience” Meetings

As we reported here, California’s Senate Bill (S.B.) 399, took effect on January 1, 2025. This law prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings about the company’s opinions on political or religious...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Showdown Over Workplace Speech – Litigation Filed to Enjoin SB 399 Prohibiting Mandatory Meetings During Union Organizing

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On January 1, 2025, Senate (SB) Bill 399, officially went into effect in California. California joined other states, including Illinois, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York, and Oregon, in enacting statutes that prohibit “captive...more

ArentFox Schiff

New California Law – SB 399 – Potentially Limits Employers’ Free Speech Rights

ArentFox Schiff on

On September 30, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 399, the “California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act.” SB 399, which goes into effect on January 1, 2025, will prohibit employers from holding...more

Greenberg Glusker LLP

Finalized Acrylamide Warnings and Related Legal Showdown

Greenberg Glusker LLP on

This week, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) announced that the proposed Prop. 65 additional safe harbor warning options for acrylamide have become final. The safe harbor options will be included in...more

Fisher Phillips

All the New California Workplace Laws You Need to Know About For 2025

Fisher Phillips on

Now that the California legislative session is essentially over and Governor Newsom has taken action to either approve or veto all the workplace law bills on his desk, employers can take stock on all the new laws that will...more

Fisher Phillips

California Bans “Captive Audience” Meetings: 5 Steps You Need to Take to Comply With New Law

Fisher Phillips on

Governor Gavin Newsom just signed into law a bill on Friday that will soon ban employers from holding “captive audience” meetings – those employer-sponsored mandatory meetings that discuss religious or political matters,...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Navigating Politics in the Workplace

CDF Labor Law LLP on

In a state as diverse and politically active as California, employers are bound to encounter clashing political expressions among employees this election cycle. Navigating these challenges and enforcing policies affecting the...more

Nossaman LLP

Public Officials and Social Media Posts: U.S. Supreme Court Provides Guidance on First Amendment Compliance

Nossaman LLP on

In its recent opinions in Linke v. Freed and O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier, the U.S. Supreme Court considered if and when public officials violate the First Amendment rights of members of the public by blocking them from the...more

Allen Matkins

As Foretold, California's New Forced Speech Laws Are Being Challenged

Allen Matkins on

Last year, I commented on the likely unconstitutionality of two California laws compelling forced speech...more

Allen Matkins

Court Finds Presentation To Regulators Was An Official Proceeding And Why That Is Important

Allen Matkins on

California's Anti-SLAPP statute is intended to cut short lawsuits "brought primarily to chill the valid exercise of the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and petition . . .".  Cal. Code Civ. Proc  § 425.16(a) ...more

Weintraub Tobin

(Podcast) The Briefing: IP Rights and the “Public Good” Exemption to California’s Anti-SLAPP Law: An Update

Weintraub Tobin on

In the case of Martinez v. Zoom Info Technologies, the Ninth Circuit addressed the “Public Interest” exemption to California’s anti-SLAPP law. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar talk about this case on this episode of The...more

Weintraub Tobin

The Briefing: IP Rights and the “Public Good” Exemption to California’s Anti-SLAPP Law: An Update

Weintraub Tobin on

In the case of Martinez v. Zoom Info Technologies, the Ninth Circuit addressed the “Public Interest” exemption to California’s anti-SLAPP law. Scott Hervey and James Kachmar talk about this case on this episode of The...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

The Intersection of Prop 65 and Free Speech: A Recent Win for Businesses

Under California’s Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”), businesses are required to give “clear and reasonable warnings” to consumers regarding potential chemical exposure if their product contains a chemical “known to the state to...more

Allen Matkins

Court Leans On Minutes To Find That Non-Inaction Is Action

Allen Matkins on

California's anti-SLAPP statute provides that a special motion to strike may be filed against "[a] cause of action against a person arising from any act of that person in furtherance of the person’s right of petition or free...more

Carlton Fields

A Cautionary Note on Honking Your Own Horn

Carlton Fields on

On April 7, 2023, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Porter v. Martinez, which addresses California’s law that prohibits honking a car horn except to warn of a safety hazard. Here, Susan Porter drove...more

Allen Matkins

Government Censorship By Proxy?

Allen Matkins on

Last week, I wrote about an unsuccessful challenge to the activities of the Office of Elections Cybersecurity within the California Secretary of State's office: Is The California Secretary of State Monitoring What You Publish...more

Allen Matkins

Is The California Secretary of State Monitoring What You Publish Online?

Allen Matkins on

In 2018, the California legislature established a "ministry of truth" within the California Secretary of State's office - the Office of Elections Cybersecurity.  By statute, the OEC has a duty “to monitor and counteract false...more

Allen Matkins

Federal Judge Enjoins Physician Gag Law

Allen Matkins on

Last year, the California legislature enacted statutory changes ostensibly to limit the spread of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 by licensed physicians.  2022 Cal. Stats. ch. 938 (AB 2098)....more

Allen Matkins

Judge Slaughter Refuses To Enjoin Physician Gag Statute

Allen Matkins on

Last year, the California legislature enacted statutory changes ostensibly to limit the spread of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 by licensed physicians.  2022 Cal. Stats. ch. 938 (AB 2098). Two California...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Will Newsom’s Nicety Bill Curb Disruptive Behavior During Public Hearings?

The zeitgeist of pandemic-era American politics has been ugly. Really ugly. In an environment where civil disobedience skews uncivil, how do we balance the quintessentially American freedom of speech with the public...more

Allen Matkins

If Form 10-K Statements Are "Protected Activity", What About Form 8-K and 10-Q Filings?

Allen Matkins on

Yesterday's post concerned the California Court of Appeal's holding that statements made in a Form 10-K were "protected activity" under California's Anti-SLAPP statute because they were made "in connection with an issue under...more

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