Ninth Circuit Blocks California's Captive Audience Ban
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against California SB 399, holding the captive-audience statute content- and speaker-based and presumptively unconstitutional, in a roundup also covering COVID and Title VII rulings.
The October appellate roundup from Littler reports four federal circuit decisions. Most consequential is California Chamber of Commerce v. Bonta (9th Cir. Oct. 29, 2026), in which the Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of California SB 399, the law penalizing employers for adverse action against employees who decline employer-sponsored meetings on religious or political topics, a category that includes labor organizations. The panel read the statute as reaching speech rather than mere attendance, treated it as content-based and speaker-based and presumptively unconstitutional, and held the state had not shown it narrowly tailored to serve a compelling interest. Counsel advising California employers on mandatory captive-audience meetings should reassess meeting scripts, notice-and-consent language and attendance policies while certification is pending. The roundup also covers MacDonald v. Oregon Health & Science University (9th Cir. Oct. 2, 2026), affirming dismissal of free-exercise and Title VII failure-to-accommodate claims brought by a healthcare worker who refused a state vaccine mandate; Schmidt v. City of Pasadena (9th Cir. Oct. 5, 2026), confirming PREP Act immunity for employer testing and masking requirements; and Reed v. Remington Arms Co. (8th Cir. Oct. 8, 2026), granting summary judgment to the employer on race and gender discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation claims. Certiorari petitions and further appellate review are the next developments to watch.